Marc Guehi: Manchester City have no choice but to believe in Real Madrid miracle | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Marc Guehi has sent a passionate rallying call to his teammates ahead of their European return leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

The Blues need to overturn a three-goal deficit against Alvaro Arbeloa’s men at the Etihad Stadium after being swept side by Federico Valverde‘s first-half hat-trick in the opening leg at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.

City lost further ground in the Premier League title race at the weekend after succumbing to a 1-1 draw against West Ham, allowing Arsenal to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points albeit having played an additional game.

Every game is a final for Manchester City between now and the end of the season as the Blues remain in the running for an unprecedented quadruple in their first year under the stewardship of director of football Hugo Viana.

Marc Guehi calls upon Manchester City squad to believe in miraculous turnaround

In conversation with official club media ahead of Tuesday night’s return leg at home, Manchester City’s January signing Marc Guehi has implored his teammates to forego their recent poor of form and give it everything they have against Real Madrid.

“If you go into these games and don’t believe, there’s no point in turning up to play,” the 25-year-old said. “It’s important we rally everyone and we’re ready to go again.

“We pick ourselves up; it’s the next game and the next most important thing. We’ll make sure we go for that game and believe that we can turn it around.”

The calendar doesn’t get any easier for Manchester City in the next month, with the Blues facing Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday as they progress through a season-defining run of games in the run-in.

Guehi stresses on importance of “freeing our minds” for monumental Real Madrid and Arsenal clashes

“It’s important we free our minds – they’re two important games and big games,” Guehi added. “They’re two games that we go in to and believe we can get the win in both – free our minds and just go for it.

“The most important thing is the next action and staying in the present – not thinking too far ahead. The present is the next game and it’s about making sure we’re ready for that.

“It’s a big week ahead for us. We live each day in the present and take each game and each step at a time. It’s football – we’ve all seen some crazy things happen in football so never say never and that’s the attitude we’ll have right until the end.

“It’s not done until the last game of the season – I think everyone knows that. We have to believe – we’ve got no choice. We know our fans are going to be right behind us – we’ll take it right until the end.”

Guehi has been one of the first names on Guardiola’s teamsheet since his £20 million arrival from Crystal Palace in January and is expected to start alongside Ruben Dias in central defence against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.