Guardiola on Manchester City inconsistent form ahead of UCL first leg play-off against Real Madrid
10/02/2025
CGA, Manchester, Uk
10/02/2025
CGA, Manchester, Uk
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, guys, hope you're well, same process as ever.
00:09We have mics on either side of the room.
00:11We'll take questions from English-speaking media first, please,
00:13and then Spanish in the second section.
00:16Just be mindful of how busy the room is, please.
00:18We'll start with Simon there.
00:23I don't think anybody expected this game to be a playoff game in the Champions League,
00:28but does that reduce the significance of playing against Real Madrid again?
00:34You call them the kings of Europe.
00:36Are they still the standard that everybody has to live by?
00:42Definitely.
00:45There are a few clubs in Europe that, for the history, for everything,
00:48always it doesn't matter where.
00:50In a group stage, on the knockout stage, it's always difficult.
00:55We have not done quite well in a group stage, so we deserve to be where we are.
01:03The draw is the draw, and accept the challenge.
01:08Pep, the last three years you've met Real Madrid in the competition,
01:12and each time, whoever's won this particular tie has gone on to lift the trophy.
01:18You've been involved in it, we've witnessed it,
01:20but is this the great Champions League rivalry of this current era,
01:24Manchester City and Real Madrid?
01:26I don't think so.
01:28I was saying in the last years, yes, we've played eight times, four times together.
01:36We have good results, bad results, but we won four, drew three, lost one,
01:41but at the end we stood to go through.
01:45So in terms of the last decade, yes, maybe,
01:48because it's not normal to play in the same rivals all the time.
01:51But in terms of the history of the Champions League,
01:53at the end we cannot compare, to be honest.
01:56So against Madrid, or Bayern Munich, or Barcelona, or Milan,
02:00or these types of groups, elite groups that we have not been from,
02:06from the history.
02:07In the last decade we have been around, but of course in the last years,
02:12I don't know the draw, the times we play against them.
02:17Pep, of course Real Madrid decided not to go to the Ballon d'Or award
02:23when Rodri won it.
02:24Will there be any hard feelings between you and them?
02:27Is there any hard feelings?
02:29Absolutely not.
02:31What were your thoughts of that when it happened?
02:33Happy for Rodri.
02:35Vinicius Mbappé next year as well could deserve it,
02:38like in the past when Messi-Cristiano was fighting for that.
02:44The subject is over.
02:47When you've met each other in the last couple of years,
02:49it's felt like quite a finely balanced tie, maybe 50-50.
02:53Do you feel a little bit more like underdogs this time,
02:55and perhaps the pressure is on Real Madrid more so than in the last couple of years?
03:01I don't know.
03:03I think both teams had problems in terms of injuries during the season.
03:06I think Madrid handled it much better than us,
03:09because they're still at the top of the league
03:13and fighting against Atletico Madrid.
03:15Show again one more year the consistency that they have in Barcelona.
03:18Right now, maybe it's one of the best Barcelonans in not that period.
03:24So, while playing this season, it's playing exceptional.
03:30We can compare in all Barcelonans, and still with that, Madrid is the leader.
03:35So, with the problems that we had, at the end, they are a huge competitor.
03:39We know it. We faced it many times with them.
03:43How in the tough moments they bring the best of them, we know it.
03:46And of course, we have to make two good games to go through.
03:52Hi, Pep.
03:53In terms of getting your team back to the level you want them to be,
03:57how far do you think you are from the top level,
03:59and which improvements are you most happy with?
04:06Listen, we are not being consistent.
04:08What defined that team in the last decade is that we are an incredible machine every three days.
04:13Otherwise, we cannot win six Premier Leagues in seven years,
04:15and do the incredible trophies that we want.
04:18And after, we can win, lose, because the opponents are good.
04:22But we are not being consistent.
04:23So, that's why, of course, we can perform well tomorrow.
04:25Of course, we can perform well in Madrid.
04:27Of course, we can perform well at the end of the season.
04:30But before I can tell you, OK, it's going to happen that now,
04:33I don't know how it's going to react, because the reality is one.
04:37So, we have not been... We can see a lot of goals.
04:40We are a team that, throughout the game, we don't concede much,
04:44in terms of goals and chances for the opponent.
04:47And this season, for the reasons that everybody knows, we are there.
04:51But at the same time, I will not deny how much trust we have with the players
04:58that gave us the incredible decade, all of us winning a lot of things
05:02and playing at the highest standards, and I know we are capable of.
05:06So, of course, we are going to prepare today and talk with the team
05:12about what we are going to challenge, and hopefully we can perform well.
05:18Real Madrid, obviously, had a very good attack when they came here last year
05:22with Benitez and Rodrigo.
05:24Obviously, now they've added Kylian Mbappe to the team as well.
05:27How highly do you rate that front three,
05:29and what will be the key to combating them tomorrow?
05:33Well, it's impossible in 90 minutes, 180 minutes or 200 minutes.
05:36It depends on the extra time to control these four players.
05:39They are... Everybody knows, so I don't say anything new.
05:43They are exceptionals.
05:44So, how they combine, the runners, the ability in one-against-one,
05:51how they keep the ball, all four are exceptional, so everybody knows it.
05:55So, we have to reduce his involvement as much as possible,
06:00and knowing that it's going to happen, accept it.
06:03So, I'm not expecting, because they have the courage to play.
06:07Of course, when they decide to play long balls, they are good,
06:09but after they have the ability, it doesn't matter what happens.
06:13To always be present with the ball, it doesn't matter if the opponents are close.
06:16They have the ability to keep it and make extra touches and extra passes.
06:20And when that happens, of course, they can run,
06:22they can combine the shortest passes with the moments in behind.
06:25So, we know it's going to happen, but at the same time,
06:28we are going to try to impose our game, to be involved as little as possible with the ball,
06:34and be smart, especially in the first leg, the way you have to play.
06:39It's important to read the tempo we have to play to get a good result for Bernabeu.
06:47Hi, Pep.
06:49With a two-legged side, normally you would want the second leg at home.
06:53With the way this season has gone, are you happier that the first leg is home
06:57to give you more of a chance to get something in the first leg to take into the second leg?
07:02Listen, to be honest, it's always better, I think.
07:06It doesn't matter what happens in the second leg at home,
07:08if you have extra time, your crowd is much better.
07:10But last season, two seasons ago, we were good.
07:13Last season, I think, except the first 10-15 minutes, they were really good.
07:18I think we played a good game, but we were not able...
07:20Listen, we played the second game away because we were not good in the group stage.
07:24When you finish 22-24, you cannot ask for any favour,
07:28you cannot ask for anything that you didn't win.
07:31I always believed that what happened in football,
07:34normally you have to deserve it, and we didn't deserve it.
07:37We didn't do enough points in the group stage to not even start in the eighth first,
07:43not even close to that position.
07:46That's why when the draw was potential, I thought it was what we deserved.
07:52So do it better, and maybe you'll have another draw.
07:55But another draw in the circumstances we have in another team,
07:58in the ninth to 24th, would have been difficult.
08:01Because, of course, what we were is what we are, so I know perfectly.
08:07But the team has something special, our team, and hopefully tomorrow we can prove it.
08:14Pep, given the way the season has unfolded for you in Real Madrid's strength in this competition,
08:22if you can win the tie, do you think it can be a confidence changer for the players
08:27for the remainder of the season?
08:28Do you feel that they really need to win this tie?
08:36Of course it will be important, we will be in the competition, we play in the next round.
08:44Of course it will be a good boost if everybody comes back and we are fit,
08:47but it's like I said to your colleague, we weren't stable this season.
08:51We were not in the past.
08:53So we achieve what we achieve in the travels and quadruples,
08:58and you know how difficult it is, that proves it, and every season in this country especially.
09:05So it's because we were a machine, it doesn't matter what happens, we were there.
09:09Of course we can lose at the last minute, and the opponents are good.
09:13In the Champions League we have many cases during these nine years I've been here,
09:18moments at Tottenham, or moments in the last minute we could go through,
09:25but always we come back, we come back.
09:27This season we struggled a lot.
09:28Of course it would be good to continue for the club, for the prestige to be in this competition,
09:32but I like to feel that we are, week by week, month by month, we are there.
09:38Now I would feel, yeah, the team is consistent, we can do it.
09:43Now it's like, I don't know, I know the game plan tomorrow,
09:47I know the way we want to play, we still have doubts for the selection,
09:50we have still injuries and people come back,
09:53but at the same time, always in this type of draws and competitions,
09:58I'm so optimistic and calm, and we'll see what happens.
10:02Last one in English, guys.
10:04You may not be so close to the coin as you wish.
10:09But it always happens, you never know before the game was going to happen how they react,
10:12but always you have a feeling with the players that, oh, that player is always there.
10:17Now we have a lot of injuries, players are a little bit up and down,
10:20but I'm pretty sure tomorrow the players are looking forward to the game,
10:24so we know who we play.
10:26For them, to play against the players of Real Madrid who have made history,
10:31like it would be in Barcelona, or the names I've nominated before in the Champions League,
10:37it's always a pleasure.
10:40We cannot forget that one decade ago we were not here quite often.
10:43Now every year we have been in the last stages of the season,
10:46because we are not doing well in the group stages, we are earlier,
10:50but always we have been there, so for us it's an honour,
10:54and hopefully our people can support us.
10:56I'm going to move into Spanish, just leave it in the middle.
10:59Hi, Pep, you've spoken about...
11:05It's almost like the modern Classico of the Champions League,
11:10but I'd like to know which games have taken you more to the limits?
11:16Is it these battles that you've had against City,
11:19or those classic games when you were manager of Barcelona
11:24and you were facing Jordi Mourinho's Barcelona?
11:28I think it's different, I think there was more noise in those Madrid-Barca games,
11:34and that was obvious, but they've been special,
11:38I think they've been good games, they were great games that we faced,
11:41with more noise, let's say, but these have also been great games.
11:47They've gone different ways two times on each occasion,
11:51on both sides, with the strengths that both teams have,
11:56I think it's been good.
11:57I think this knockout game will be wonderful, I believe that anyway.
12:03Hi, Pep, good afternoon.
12:07I'd like to ask you about...
12:09You say that you want your team to be consistent tomorrow,
12:15do you think Madrid are consistent at the moment?
12:17Because they've had seven defeats this year,
12:20do you think that they are stronger than you?
12:23And how have the new signings adapted to this team?
12:27And are you surprised that Madrid didn't sign players?
12:32No, Carlo does what he needs to do.
12:34I'm not going to say what Madrid need to do.
12:37They are top of the league in Spain.
12:42Madrid last year didn't lose many games, but they were still up there.
12:47I always say this, when we've beat them, when we've lost them,
12:51I'll always say the same thing.
12:54I have great respect for Madrid, for their players, and for what they do.
13:00That won't change if we win more than lose more.
13:03It's not very easy sometimes when you win a league, a Champions League,
13:07another league, to be switched on.
13:09You have lots of games.
13:11Sometimes you have to go through difficult situations
13:14to realise what you need to do to go back to having that same feeling.
13:20In previous seasons that's happened to us and we've come back,
13:23but sometimes we've lost games and we've gone through difficult periods.
13:27This has happened more this season,
13:29but sooner or later that will happen.
13:31It's happened to us this season, but we've still got things to play for.
13:35There are four months left and we'll try and do what we can.
13:42Angelotti, I've both been critical of the calendar.
13:50Madrid are missing a lot of defensive players.
13:53They only have Mendy in the side from the last game of the Champions League last season.
14:01When you're talking about the front four, are you thinking about their front four more
14:06or are you talking about the fact that they have defensive players missing?
14:10I would say if we had Rodri in the side,
14:16I think we would have been capable of doing a lot more.
14:23I'm not just talking about the attacking quality that they have,
14:27but also the way that they have good defensive players in the side.
14:32The impact of Asensio has been great.
14:35I don't know if Carlo is going to change things on the right-hand side of defence,
14:41but I will try and be aware of everything on the pitch.
14:44Everybody knows the front four of Real Madrid,
14:48whether it's Brahim or any other player that comes into that side,
14:51they have talent.
14:54All the opponents that face Madrid know that.
14:56And at the back, we'll have to see how we play.
14:59Can we create problems for their defensive line?
15:02The players that they've had in the past,
15:05when we went out on penalties and then the game that we lost in the Bernabeu,
15:10they caused us problems.
15:12So it depends on the way that we are, the situation that we're in.
15:17I'd like to ask you about the two...
15:20Both sides have great attackers.
15:23Do you need to defend well?
15:25Does the team that defends well need to do that to go three?
15:32And obviously, you've conceded more goals than you expected this season.
15:37In modern football, if the forward players don't put in a shift,
15:41then it's going to be more difficult.
15:45It's a lot more difficult for players with lots of talent to apply themselves in that way.
15:51But we know what BenÃcius and Mbappé can do.
15:55And we know that they need to sacrifice themselves for the teams at sign.
15:57And they've done that in previous seasons.
16:00The talent of Madrid has always been there,
16:02but they have this defensive discipline and that's what has made the difference.
16:07Last year, look at how well they defended here.
16:11We were able to score two goals from outside the box in the Bernabeu,
16:15but we weren't able to score more than one here.
16:17We were very close to doing it, but that's the talent that Madrid have,
16:22that Barcelona have, that we have as well.
16:24We've won a lot because we've been very disciplined in all the defensive phases.
16:29And this year, not so much.
16:32Hi Pep.
16:35On Saturday, after winning the FA Cup,
16:39you said that this means that I won't get sacked the next day,
16:43that the president won't sack me.
16:45I'm just wondering, after this bad period,
16:47do you think you're battling to save your position in every game?
16:51No.
16:55I don't know if a doctor, if an architect will be asked about his position.
17:00But you know, I know in some stadiums,
17:03they say that you're getting sacked in the morning, etc.
17:05But I don't have that feeling.
17:07Obviously, I'm here.
17:09I'm still here because of what we've won in previous seasons.
17:12If not, I probably wouldn't be here.
17:14But that's the relationship that we have.
17:18You know, and if things don't work, we'll shake hands and we'll move on.
17:22But I don't think I'm going to be thrown out on the street.
17:26But if you're asking me about your opinion,
17:30I don't know if you'd like that to happen, but I don't have that feeling.
17:35Hi Pep.
17:38Last year, before you faced Madrid,
17:41it seems that Manchester City were the big favourite.
17:44This year, it seems that it's the other way around.
17:47I don't know in which role you feel more comfortable, favourites or underdogs?
17:53Well, if you came here and played,
17:56you know, we lost in the last minute.
17:58We won 4-0 once against them.
18:00Last year, we were the favourites.
18:02You can do whatever you like to do.
18:03You can give us the tag of favourites or you can give us the tag of underdog.
18:09We're going to hopefully play two good games,
18:12but whether we're favourites or not doesn't really change anything to me.
18:15We'll see what happens on the pitch.