Guardiola: I want to earn next round spot before facing Real | OneFootball

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola stated this Tuesday, on the eve of the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, that his goal is to “deserve to be in the next round” and, for that, he hopes the team will play their usual football.

  See this post on Instagram   A post shared by Manchester City (@mancity)

See also: All Gazeta Esportiva news Gazeta Esportiva YouTube Channel Follow Gazeta Esportiva on Instagram Join the Gazeta Esportiva channel on WhatsApp 

“In my experience, when you reach the final or semifinal of the Champions League, if you’re not playing your best, it gets harder,” Guardiola explained to reporters.

“In this competition, you can get lucky. It’s not 38 games like in the Premier League or LaLiga. Sometimes you deserve to go through and you don’t. Sometimes you play really badly and still qualify,” he added.

Pep Guardiola has won the Champions League three times as a coach, twice with Barcelona and once with Manchester City.

The Catalan coach asked his team to stay true to themselves at the Bernabéu and not be intimidated by Real Madrid’s rich history.

“I want to deserve to be in the next round. And the only way to deserve to be in the next round is by being who you are. That’s the only way,” said Guardiola, seeking to ease the pressure on his players.

“If we’re eliminated, we’re eliminated. It’s about congratulating Real Madrid. Sometimes it’s not possible to win because the opponent is better. But at least try. Just try,” he concluded.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.