Pep Guardiola claims biggest challenge was Klopp not Real Madrid, but Arbeloa has ‘long career ahead’ | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Real Madrid counterpart Alvaro Arbeloa after his side were eliminated from the Champions League, stating that he has a long career in management ahead of him. Despite being on the end of a fourth defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout stages in five years, he did not call Los Blancos his greatest challenge as a coach.

As happened in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Guardiola’s side dominated the opening proceedings, but were unable to capitalise on the scoresheet. Vinicius Junior’s penalty and Bernardo Silva’s sending off after 20 minutes all but ended their chances of getting back into the tie.

“We are an extraordinary team, extraordinary. The first 15 minutes today; the first 15 minutes at the Bernabeu. The mistake that led to our first goal… we didn’t defend a long ball to Valverde well. We are an extraordinary team, we play very good football. Congratulations to Real Madrid and to all of you (laughs),” he told Diario AS after the game.

“We have a lot of potential to build, there are talented young players. We’re not a complete team yet; we were in the past, in every aspect, and now we’re not. There are still games to play, we’re going to make good decisions for those games, and we’ll be back in the Champions League. I’m part of that; if I say we’ll be back, it’s because I’m part of it. Why does everyone want to find me a way out? I have a contract. I’d love for this club to have the same standards as Real Madrid, where not winning the Champions League is a failure. But maybe we’ll get there…”

‘I would’ve liked to experience it 11 against 11’

There has been talk that Guardiola could leave Manchester City this summer, despite having a year left on his deal. He is expected to consider his future next week, but was adamant that he had the energy to pick himself and his side up.

“Onward. In a career, there are good and bad results. Get up, prepare for the final, and finish the year. It hurts to be knocked out of the Champions League, but this competition is very demanding. And that’s all. I would have liked to experience it 11 vs 11, even if they had scored the goal.”

Ten against nine, with them leading 4-0, it was impossible. The future is bright, we have new players, and sport is all about challenges. I congratulate Real Madrid. We didn’t play eleven against eleven to see how things would go. I congratulate Real Madrid; the first leg decided the tie. I would have liked to play eleven against eleven. Many of us are playing in the Champions League for the first time, many indeed. In the first few minutes, both there and here, we played well. We tried, and we were there. I don’t know what would have happened with eleven against eleven. We might have lost anyway, but we’ll never know.”

‘Arbeloa has a long career ahead of him’ – Guardiola

Real Madrid manager Arbeloa was largely credited of having had the better of the tie, and Guardiola was asked what he had made of his opposite number.

“Good, I liked it [what I saw]. Their playing out from the back was very good, they linked up well, with a lot of quality. A very good impression, I predict a long career for him.”

Guardiola: ‘My biggest challenge was Klopp not Real Madrid’

After adding another defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League, Guardiola was asked if Los Blancos represented his biggest challenge since he became Manchester City manager.

“My biggest challenge has been Klopp. Here, you were in Spain and you didn’t realise what that was like. To play against Real Madrid so many times, with the generation we had, we were good enough. We won both matches. Statistically, we were similar; they eliminated us more often, but based on how we played, I think they know that too.”

Real Madrid will now face Bayern Munich in all likelihood in the quarter-finals, who have a 6-1 advantage from their first leg against Atalanta.