Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has revealed that it is impossible to stop Real Madrid’s quartet of Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham.
Guardiola and his team will play host to Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 playoffs at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, and the Spaniard has confessed they can’t keep them quiet for the duration of the tie.
While Real Madrid is going through a defensive crisis with the trio of Toni Rudiger, David Alaba, and Eder Militao all ruled out of the clash, their forward line can cause problems for any team in the world.
Kylian Mbappe, who joined the club in the summer, is gradually finding his feet with nine goals in all competitions in January after a tough start to the season.
Guardiola is aware of the enormous task his players will go through to keep Real Madrid’s attack at bay.
He said, “It’s impossible for 90 minutes, 180 minutes or 200 minutes—depending on extra time—to control these four players. They are exceptional. How they combine, their runs, their ability one-on-one, and how they keep the ball. So we have to reduce their involvement as much as possible. Knowing that [they will be dangerous at some point] is going to happen; accept it.
“They have the courage to play. Of course, when Real decides to play long balls, they are good [too]. But after [the four] have the ability to always be present with the ball, it doesn’t matter if the opponents are close. They have the ability to keep it and make extra touches and extra passes. And when that happens, of course, they can run; they can combine the shortest passes with moments behind.
“We know it’s going to happen. But at the same time, we are going to try to impose our game and be smart—especially in the first leg—with the way you have to play. It’s important to read the tempo—we have to play to get a good result for the return at the Bernabéu.”
Man City have endured a topsy-turvy season, their worst under Pep Guardiola since he took over in 2016. He is expecting the players to show their quality against Real Madrid.
He said, “We are where we are, and I know perfectly but the team has something special and hopefully tomorrow we can prove it.
“I will not deny how I trust the players who gave us that incredible decade, winning a lot of things and playing at a high standard. I know what we are capable of.
“To be honest, it is always better to have a second leg at home in case you have extra time with your people.
“We play the second game away because we were not good in the group stage—when you finish 22nd, you cannot ask for any favours.
“In football, you have to deserve it—we do not deserve it. We were not even close. That’s why when the draw was either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, I thought that was what we deserved.
“Of course [going through] it would be important. We would be in the next round.
“But we have not been stable this season. We achieved trebles and quadruples and we see how difficult it is. It is because we are a machine. It doesn’t matter what happened; we were there.”
Man City have faced Real Madrid four times in the past five years at the knockout stage, progressing in August 2020 to the quarter-finals and in May 2023 to the final.
The quarter-final encounter last year was particularly close, with City being eliminated via a penalty shootout.
Guardiola is expected to welcome the trio of Ederson, Nathan Aké and new signing Nico González back into the fold for the clash.
