(Dan Tri) - The draw results put Real Madrid and Man City against each other in the play-off match for a ticket to the 1/8 round of the Champions League. Both coaches Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti believe in their team's chances.
At the press conference before the match against Arsenal in round 24 of the Premier League (11:30 p.m. on February 2), coach Pep Guardiola shared: "Four consecutive years against Real Madrid, I feel like a derby. Facing Real Madrid or Bayern Munich is difficult. Hopefully we will be at our best in the first leg at Etihad and the second leg at Bernabeu."
Real Madrid beat Man City 6-5 on aggregate in the 2021-22 semi-finals, before drawing 4-4 on aggregate and winning 4-3 on penalties in the 2023-24 quarter-finals. Guardiola's side won 5-1 on aggregate in the 2022-23 semi-finals. Both teams were champions after eliminating each other in previous head-to-head meetings.
Coach Guardiola admitted that facing Real Madrid or Bayern Munich is difficult (Photo: Getty).
In the Champions League, Man City have met Real Madrid 12 times, with 4 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. Therefore, the encounter in the Champions League play-off round this year promises to be extremely unpredictable.
The Spanish strategist added: "If the opponent is Celtic or another team, things can be more difficult. Man City can play badly and the opponent will go through. Any draw result is the same because meeting Real Madrid or Bayern Munich is not easy."
Man City face Real Madrid in the first leg at the Etihad on February 11 and the return leg in Spain on February 18. In the Premier League, they also face Newcastle on February 15, Liverpool on February 23 and Tottenham on February 26.
Coach Pep Guardiola complained about the tight schedule: "Usually in the Premier League, the Organizing Committee always arranges the most difficult schedule for the teams playing in the European Cup. Meeting Real Madrid or Bayern Munich is already extremely difficult, but we also have a difficult match with Newcastle."
Coach Ancelotti does not want Real Madrid to meet Man City too soon (Photo: EFE).
For his part, coach Ancelotti commented on the match against Man City in a press conference before the match against Espanyol in round 22 of La Liga (3am on February 2): "I have no preparation at all, just the recovery process, video analysis, playing and then doing the same thing again for 40 days. Real Madrid needs to rotate and all the players must be ready for this stage of the season.
If everything goes well, Real Madrid will not meet Man City. But we did not finish in the top 8 of the Champions League. Playing two more or less games is not important because we have enough force to deal with it."
The Italian strategist confirmed that Real Madrid will not strengthen their squad in the January transfer window, and believes that Rodrygo and Vinicius will stay long-term despite being welcomed by many teams in Saudi Arabia.
Champions League play-off round draw results (Photo: UEFA).
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/guardiola-va-ancelotti-san-sang-tam-ly-o-dai-chien-man-city-real-madrid-20250201073852554.htm
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