Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has insisted he doesn’t fear Real Madrid, but is wary of the threat posed by Jude Bellingham.
♦ Pep not scared of Madrid
♦ Has beaten Los Blancos on 12 occasions
♦ Warns his side had to control Bellingham
WHAT HAPPENED?
Guardiola has faced Madrid 22 times in his coaching career with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, enjoying incredible victories as well as gut-wrenching defeats. He will attempt to knock them out of the Champions League for the fourth occasion when his side take on Carlo Ancelotti’s side in Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg.
WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID
“No I don’t fear them. I respect them a lot, I’ve faced them many times. And if I said I were scared of them, I would be being false,” Guardiola said. “I spoke of the condition of the pitch with the best wishes in the world and it’s their decision if they don’t do that. You can believe what you want when I say that. I have to have respect. There’s the rivalry, you want to beat them and do well, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I want to do as well as we can, be ourselves. If we can’t be, it doesn’t matter. But I’m not scared of them and if they beat me – as as happened many times – we will say congratulations and wish them well.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Guardiola has hailed Madrid as “the kings of the competition” but last week caused a stir by criticising the state of the Santiago Bernabeu pitch after the epic 3-3 draw. But despite insisting he was not scared of Los Merengues, Guardiola admitted that his side would have to keep a close eye on Madrid star Jude Bellingham. “Bellingham shows playing at a top club like Madrid or Barcelona it is not easy to settle quick and he settled even quicker,” he said. “From the beginning his impact was huge in terms of goals and many things. At his age, he feels pressure without a problem, he has a good mentality and is an exceptional player. We have to control him and take a look at what he does.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Guardiola has a strong record against Madrid, winning 12 matches against them while drawing five and losing five. But he has suffered agonising defeats against Los Merengues, including being hammered 4-0 with Bayern in the 2014 Champions League semi-finals and conceding two goals in stoppage time with City in the last four in 2022.
WHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY?
City are in a strong position to repeat last year’s incredible treble triumph this season after moving top of the Premier League and Bernardo Silva has said the team are inspired by pulling off the feat. But Guardiola said it was not on his mind. “I am not going to say don’t feel this to my players but I have a different opinion. We are far away from those hypothetical dreams,” he said. “When we are in the final of the FA Cup and two or three games and in the final of the Champions League I will start to think about that but you say how strong Chelsea are and what is a few points difference [in the title race] with six games to play. When I was a few points behind I said we had to do our job. It is the same feeling now.”