After a season full of hardships, Man City boss Pep Guardiola urges team to prove they still have fight against Real Madrid in first leg of knockout playoffs
Man City players celebrate a goal during their win over Leyton Orient in London recently. Pic/AFP
Pep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City side to prove they are still “something special” in their blockbuster Champions League tie against Real Madrid despite a turbulent season for the Premier League champions.
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The two clubs meet in Europe’s elite competition for a fourth consecutive season but this time much earlier in the tournament as both under-performed in the new league phase. City sneaked into the next round in 22nd place in the 36-team table by winning their final game against Club Brugge, while defending champions Real finished 11th.
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Pep Guardiola
Real Madrid, European champions a record 15 times, secured a seeding for the knockout playoffs, meaning they host the second leg of the tie, which the City boss admitted was an advantage.
“When you finish 22nd [out of 24] you cannot ask any favour, you cannot ask anything that you didn’t win,” Guardiola said ahead of Tuesday’s first leg at the Etihad.
“Always I believe what happens in football, normally you have to deserve it and we didn’t deserve it.”
City have won six out of the past seven Premier League titles, including the last four in a row, but they are currently in fifth spot and realistically out of the title race.
“I will not deny how I trust the players that gave us the incredible decade, all of us, winning a lot of things and playing at high standards and I know what we are capable of,” he said.
“The team has something special and hopefully tomorrow we can prove it,” he added.
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