Man City need ‘perfect game’ – can Guardiola find miracle in Madrid?

Pep Guardiola entered the palatial surroundings of the Bernabeu Stadium knowing that Real Madrid must overturn the odds and logic in a special place that typically grants its miracles to Real Madrid.

On a Champions League journey that led him to Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, he has experienced every emotion in this legendary arena.

And on Wednesday, Guardiola will once more appear alongside his friend and great adversary, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, beneath those towering stands knowing victory will rank among his finest achievements.

Guardiola describes City’s “1%” chance of coming out of the last 16 after overcoming a 3-2 deficit in the first leg of this play-off.

And Guardiola is erring on the side of optimism, according to the opinions of locals in a city that has hosted more Champions League victory parades than any other.

When Guardiola appeared in front of the media at the Bernabeu, which during his time as a player and coach for Barcelona, his message was unmistakable.

“We have to make it almost the perfect game”, he said. “We have to attack. We have to score goals. This is the idea”.

Guardiola is determined City will not leave the Bernabeu wondering or with regrets, saying: “We must play with courage. We must be ourselves. We must work hard to win, and it will require incredible courage.

” We could still lose, but we have to show that courage and be ourselves. Particularly now that we lost in the first leg, we must play so well.

Opta statistics rate City’s chances of progressing at a higher rate of 19.8%, but those figures must be taken in terms of Real’s involvement in this tournament and the 15-time champions’ muscle memory.

Guardiola’s record with City against Real is chequered, though it started with victory in the last 16 in 2020, the two legs being played six months apart because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The most bitter moment occurred two years later when City scored two goals on aggregate in the 90th minute of the Bernabeu’s semi-final second leg, but Rodrygo only scored twice in the dying moments with Karim Benzema’s injury-time penalty, which ultimately gave Real the win over Liverpool in Paris.

When Guardiola, as Manchester City manager, claimed his third Champions League crown in 2023, after winning with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, Real were thrashed 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-final, the Spanish champions then prevailing on penalties last season.

He said:” I have some incredible memories here – sometimes good ones, sometimes not so good.

“We know at this stage, and in this stadium, the pressure is there – but you get that in Milan, in Barcelona, at Anfield. You have to suffer at these places, but you have to reduce those moments”.

The wily Ancelotti was not taking Guardiola’s bait about percentages when he spoke in Madrid on Tuesday, saying: “He doesn’t really think that. We don’t think we have a 99% chance. We must make use of what we do, but we do have a small advantage.

Guardiola responded: “For the first time he didn’t believe me. I always say what I think, and this time you don’t believe me”.

Real are a slug of a surprise winner at Etihad Stadium because statistics accumulate like slugs in front of City’s final 16 match.

It was the 40th time Real have won the first leg of a European knockout-stage tie away from home, progressing on 37 of the previous 39 occasions.

City’s defeat, meanwhile, was the fifth time they have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout-stage tie, going on to be eliminated on the previous four occasions.

For Ancelotti, this tournament’s greatest coach with five wins, he will be meeting Guardiola in the Champions League for the 10th time, on eight occasions with Real against City. The Italian has won two games, drawn two, and won four of their nine meetings.

More recent significance comes from City’s recent struggles with form in the competition, which they have lost to Sporting, Juventus, and Paris St-Germain in their previous three away games.

Guardiola’s spirits will be lifted by Saturday’s 4-0 win over Newcastle United which included a hat-trick inside 14 first-half minutes for new Egyptian signing Omar Marmoush, while Erling Haaland demonstrated his quality with both goals in the first-leg defeat, his first against Real Madrid.

Haaland has been prolific in the Champions League, scoring 49 goals in 48 games. If he scores at the Bernabeu, he will become the fastest player to 50 goals in appearances and age, at 24 years and 213 days.

While others in their 30s, such as Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic, are also in their 30s, the event could be a Champions League bid bid farewell to Manchester City.

Guardiola stated that he would not be drawn since “I would like to respond to this but it will be at the end of the season.” We still have a lot to work toward, but we are still there in the Champions League this year to qualify for the next season. Both the FA Cup and the Club World Cup are held.

Silva continued, “I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me at the start of the season that we would be in this position in the Champions League and Premier League.” Because of where we finished, we deserve to be in this challenging situation.

” We have to believe. Although we still think things can turn out in our favor, this season will undoubtedly teach us something for the future.

For Manchester City, that future is now – in the forbidding, unforgiving surroundings of the Bernabeu on Wednesday.