Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has revealed that playing Real Madrid in the Champions League is like a derby, and he is looking forward to the clash.
On Friday, Manchester City were handed a playoff clash against Real Madrid in the draws, making it the fourth consecutive season that both sides will meet in the Champions League and the fifth in six seasons.
Both sides failed to get the automatic qualification spot in the group phase, with Real Madrid finishing in the 11th position, while Manchester City ended up in the 22nd position.
Real Madrid ended Manchester City’s hopes of retaining the trophy last season with a penalty shootout victory in the quarterfinals.
Guardiola is hoping his team can be in their best form ahead of the clash in February.
He said, “It looks like a derby already, four years in a row facing Madrid.
“Madrid or Bayern, both were really tough; hopefully we can arrive in the first leg here and the next one in Madrid as best as possible.”
The first leg is slated for February 11 at the Etihad Stadium, while the second leg comes up on February 18 at the Santiago Bernabeu in Spain.
Guardiola also bemoaned the difficult fixture schedule for Manchester City in February, with clashes against Arsenal, Liverpool, and Newcastle United lined up.
He said, “So we are already there in terms of difficult games. The schedule is what it is.
“It always happens in the Premier League; always they put the toughest [fixtures]—always they are so kind with the calendar. Many years it happened that way.”
The Spaniard was cautious with his response after he was asked whether the demanding schedule could be eased for clubs competing in the Champions League.
He said, “Are you asking me this question after many years here? I am not saying something impolite.
“You were here before me—it was always like this. It has always happened. We accept it. We are not complaining.
“We had amazing success dealing with this calendar. It’s always been like that; we accept it; I’m not complaining because we won the Treble!
“I said many times we play in the quarterfinal against Madrid and three days later we play the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley when we could have had more days.
“It’s always been like that, but we survived. When I was in Barcelona, I followed the Premier League before I came here and Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, and Arsene Wenger made the same complaints.
“What I said before, the schedule we have in February we have had in previous seasons many times. Because we have been in all competitions, fighting for the Premier League against tough opponents, it is not a surprise; it is what it is.
“We play good teams? Yes. When you win titles in the past, it’s because we were always there and playing well.
“We have done it many, many times. When we were out of the Champions League and now we are in the Champions League. Could we be better? Yes.
“The draw could be nicer, yes. But who knows if you play Celtic and it is harder?
“Bayern was extremely difficult, and Madrid is extremely difficult, but we have done it in the past.
“We have built this schedule in many years. It is OK. If we complain, [get] another job, go to another country or don’t be the manager of Manchester City.
“For many years, Sir Alex, Jose… it happened the same. We have done it. We never found the reason for that.”
The defending champions will be making a trip to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to take on Arsenal in a bid to continue their resurgence.
Man City have lost just one of their last 40 Premier League matches played from January until the end of the campaign, losing 1-0 to Brentford on the final day of 2022-23.
Arsenal are now unbeaten in 13 Premier League matches (W8 D5) and have won the most points of any side from MD11 onwards (29).
The Gunners have never had a longer unbeaten run under Arteta, last going 14 without defeat between August and December 2018, under Unai Emery.
Playing Real Madrid In The Champions League Is Like A Derby—Guardiola is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
