UEFA Champions League
Guardiola Challenges Man City to ‘Special Night’ against Madrid in Champions League
Pep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City side to prove they are still “something special” in their blockbuster Champions League tie against Real Madrid despite a turbulent season for the Premier League champions.
The two clubs meet in Europe’s elite competition for a fourth consecutive season but this time much earlier in the tournament as both under-performed in the new league phase.
City sneaked into the next round in 22nd place in the 36-team table by winning their final game against Club Brugge, while defending champions Real finished 11th.
Guardiola admitted at yesterday’s pre-match press conference that his team, European champions in 2023, were “not even close” to finishing in the top eight, which would have earned them automatic qualification for the last 16.
Real Madrid, European champions a record 15 times, secured a seeding for the knockout play-offs. This means they host the second leg of the tie, which the City boss admitted was an advantage.
“When you finish 22nd (out of 24) you cannot ask any favour, you cannot ask anything that you didn’t win,” Guardiola said ahead of Tuesday’s first leg at the Etihad.
“Always I believe what happens in football, normally you have to deserve it and we didn’t deserve it.”
The Catalan said he still had faith in his team after a decade of success despite their struggles this season, during which he has had to cope with injuries and a loss of form.
City have won six out of the past seven Premier League titles, including the last four in a row, but they are currently in fifth spot and realistically out of the title race.
“I will not deny how I trust the players that gave us the incredible decade, all of us, winning a lot of things and playing at high standards and I know what we are capable of,” he said.
“The team has something special and hopefully tomorrow we can prove it.”
And defender Ruben Dias said he believes City can still achieve something “beautiful” this season.
“Since I have been here this is maybe the most difficult season so far, but I am a firm believer that in the most difficult scenario you can still achieve something beautiful,” the Portugal international said.
“We know it will be difficult to get there but we have to believe in what we have in the dressing room. With the right belief, we are able to do anything.”
The second leg of the playoff tie takes place at Real’s Bernabeu stadium on 19 February.
TUESDAY FIXTURES
- Man City Vs Madrid
- Brest Vs PSG
- Juventus Vs PSV
- Sporting Vs Dortmund
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Premier League teams have it tougher than their European rivals due to their demanding fixture list, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said on Friday as his team prepare to face Arsenal four days after a key Champions League match.
City scraped through to the knockout round of Europe’s elite competition on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Club Brugge and had little time to recover before resuming their league campaign.
They were also drawn on Friday morning to take on European giants Real Madrid in the two-legged Champions League playoffs.
“In the Premier League, every team has to play everyone,” Guardiola said. “But normally in Premier League they always put the toughest schedules for teams in Europe in the important stages, schedule the most difficult ones, because it is tough to play against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.”
Guardiola grew prickly when asked whether the league should do more to help clubs, saying the problem existed well before his arrival in Manchester.
“Are you asking me that question after many years here? Come on. Don’t make me (answer) that question,” he said. “You have been here many years before me and it has always been like that. I’m not complaining because we have incredible success playing that calendar.
“It’s always been like that. We accept it. I’m not complaining because we won the trebles and had success doing like that.
“I said many times, last season, we played the quarter-final against Madrid and three days later we had the FA Cup semi-final in Wembley when we could have another day. But we survive. I remember when I was in Barcelona and followed the Premier League and Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger made the same complaints.
“Do you think it is going to change? The broadcasters decide, they don’t ask me what is better to play.”
City are fourth in the league standings on 41 points, six behind second-placed Arsenal. Guardiola’s side will be without Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku, who all remain injured.
The manager denied any rift with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta amid what has become a heated battle between the two sides. Arteta was part of Guardiola’s City staff for three-and-a-half years.
“With him and his family, (our relationship is) exceptional,” Guardiola said. “Of course not in touch now, he has his business and I have mine and other games, but the respect we have is always there.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City have been drawn against 15-time European Cup winners Real Madrid while Celtic will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout round play-offs.
City, the 2023 Champions League winners, will host Madrid at Etihad Stadium on 11 or 12 February before travelling to Spain for the second leg the following week.
Celtic will face Bayern Munich at Celtic Park before the Bundesliga club host Brendan Rodgers’ side at Allianz Arena in the second leg.
- Brest vs PSG
- Monaco vs Benfica
- Juventus vs PSG
- Feyenoord vs Milan
- Man City vs Madrid
- Celtic vs Bayern
- Club Brugge vs Atalanta
- Sporting vs Dortmund
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Following is the final table for league phase of the Champions League competition for the 2024-25 season:
Top eight sides in the league phase qualify automatically for the round of 16.
1. Liverpool
2. Barcelona
3. Arsenal
4. Inter Milan
5. Atletico Madrid
6. Bayer Leverkusen
7. Lille
8. Aston Villa
The teams finishing in ninth to 24th place go to the two-legged knockout playoffs.
9. Atalanta
10. Borussia Dortmund
11. Real Madrid
12. Bayern Munich
13. AC Milan
14. PSV Eindhoven
15. Paris St Germain
16. Benfica
17. Monaco
18. Brest
19. Feyenoord
20. Juventus
21. Celtic
22. Manchester City
23. Sporting
24. Club Brugge
The teams from 25th to 36 are out of the competition.
25. Dinamo Zagreb
26. VfB Stuttgart
27. Shakhtar Donetsk
28. Bologna
29. Red Star Belgrade
30. Sturm Graz
31. Sparta Prague
32. RB Leipzig
33. Girona
34. RB Salzburg
35. Slovan Bratislava
36. Young Boys
The draw for knockout playoffs will take place on Jan.31.
-Reuters
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