MADRID, May 3 / WAM / The “Santiago Bernabeu” stadium in the Spanish capital, “Madrid”, will host tomorrow, a heavy-caliber confrontation between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the second leg of the semi-finals of the European Champions League, which is an early European final before the actual final. On May 28, following the first leg match ended with City’s victory over Real Madrid by four goals to three.
During the press conference before tomorrow’s match, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola confirmed that his team is completely ready to face Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League, indicating that the team may need to make a greater effort than in the first leg to cross to final match.
Guardiola said that only presenting a good match does not guarantee a victory over Real Madrid, especially since the result of the first leg was not decisive, warning his players once morest relying on the result of the first leg, which has become the past, and stressed that the return match is another matter and the team must present a better offer than it presented in the back .
The Spanish coach added: “Of course, we have to perform better than we did in the first leg in order to qualify for the final, but we may play less and qualify as well. Football cannot be predicted or predicted.”
Guardiola described the first leg as very good and open, noting that the level of the two teams resulted in seven goals in the match, and Guardiola confirmed that his team’s goal at the present time is to qualify for the Champions League final.
He also confirmed that he does not consider Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid in the “Santiago Bernabeu” by four clean goals the season as an indication that Manchester City can achieve this as well, noting that he did not speak with Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez regarding Real Madrid, because Barcelona includes players who are not in Manchester City Manchester City also includes players who are not in Barcelona.
On the other hand, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Manchester City has the advantage over his team, before tomorrow’s match, and that Real needs to do everything possible to take advantage of this great opportunity to reach the final of the tournament.
Ancelotti confirmed that tomorrow’s match is “very difficult”, although Real have a “fantastic” chance to reach the European final.
Ancelotti rejected the idea that history will play a role in this confrontation tomorrow, noting that each match has its own circumstances and nature.
Ancelotti said: “Real Madrid is enthusiastic, motivated and focused before this important challenge. We know the difficulty of the match, but we are very confident.”
The confrontation is open and we have a slight advantage that we seek to exploit tomorrow, indicating that the team’s victory at home with a clean goal or a difference of one goal guarantees it qualifying for the final, provided that the result is not greater than 4-3.
The Italian coach indicated that the two teams have high potential and that winning in such matches is not only with enthusiasm, but for the team that can impose its personality on the match because the personality helps him to show his capabilities.
Ancelotti confirmed that his Austrian defender David Alaba will not participate in the match due to injury, and that this does not mean a change in the way the team’s defense, especially since Nacho Fernandez is performing well.
