We have to try – Pep on UCL decider

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Manchester City F.C.

·15 de março de 2026

We have to try – Pep on UCL decider

Pep Guardiola says his team will do everything they can to reach the Champions League quarter-finals as they get set to welcome Real Madrid to the Etihad on Tuesday.

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City are 3-0 down from the Round of 16 first leg at the Bernabeu as Federico Valverde’s hat-trick put Los Blancos in the box seat to progress.

Guardiola thinks few believe the Blues can get through ahead of the 15-time UCL winners but wants his players to have a positive mindset, prove everyone wrong and do the business in front of a vociferous Etihad Stadium.

“We have to try. What have we got to lose?” said the boss.

“In this room, is there someone who will have a bet for us to come back against Madrid? No-one! No way.

“Madrid never come back in history from 3-0 with 15 Champions Leagues. Never, ever.

“So of course it’s a tough result.”

In March to date, City have won one, drawn two and lost one from the four games played across the month.

Guardiola’s men drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, twice surrendering leads as we settled for a point.

Then there was an impressive 3-1 away success at Newcastle as we progressed to the FA Cup quarter-finals before the 3-0 loss in Madrid and a 1-1 draw at West Ham this past weekend as a Konstantinos Mavropanos header cancelled out a cheeky Bernardo Silva opener.

Guardiola, reflecting on this run of results, bemoaned a lack of potency in our attacking play and errors defensively.

“In many games it happened - the lack of goals like in the Bernabeu for the first 19, 20 minutes.

“We had five or six guys in the box to score a goal. We are not asking them to dribble past five players and score a goal but we missed simple things in the box and defensively as well.

“We try to propose, propose for respect for the people, for our fans and for our job. We are not able to score two or three or four.

“In Leeds we won 0-1, we did not win 0-3, 0-4. It was 0-1. We are in many things good but not like we were.

“We have eight [Premier League] games left, we have to accept it and finish the season better, we have the Premier League, the FA Cup and the other ones and it’s improve, improve and as much as we improve quicker, it will be better for the present and the future and for next season and this is what you have to do.

“I like my team. I like it. Until the end we will continue and next season we will be back.”