Manchester City are ready to take on a tough match against Spanish giants, Real Madrid in the first leg of the UCL semifinals.
Ahead of the semifinal match, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola admitted that it was very honorable for his team to meet Los Blancos.
According to Pep Guardiola, the match against Madrid was a good momentum to measure the quality of Jack Grealish and his colleagues.
Guardiola did not hesitate to call this match a very good match.
“We will try to have two good games. This match will be the first one, and will do it again next week,” said Guardiola.
Not wanting to be big-headed, Guardiola then admitted that he was honored to be able to bring Man City to the semifinals. Moreover, he will face Madrid which has been a European giant.
“It’s an honor to be in the semi-final against Real Madrid. Teams like Barcelona, Bayern, Liverpool have been in this position many times in recent years,” he said optimistically.
Previously the two giants were favorites to win the Champions League this season. The two teams will clash with each other at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday (26/4/2022).
On paper both teams have a balanced meeting record. Of the last six meetings, each won twice, lost twice and drew twice.
Apart from that, both teams are also in full motivation. Man City will again challenge for the Champions League title after failing in the final last season, while Madrid will make the semifinals later as an arena for revenge because at the last meeting, August 7, 2020, they lost by a score of 1-2.
Even so, Guardiola and City’s steps have been reduced because two Real Madrid players, namely David Alaba and Casemiro, are predicted to be absent due to injury problems. With these conditions and appearing in front of the public itself is expected to be able to make The Citizens can win.
Ahead of the fierce match, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he was happy his team was able to penetrate the last four.
In fact, at the beginning of the season, many people doubted Ancelotti’s Real Madrid squad this season.
In fact, many suspect that Madrid will not last long in the Champions League.
However, Ancelotti can prove that this assumption is not true. He was in the semifinals, along with Man City, Liverpool, and another Spanish representative, Villarreal.
The Italian tactician also said that the two Spanish teams were dark horses.
The reason, he remembers there are those who do not favor his team to the semifinals.
“There are two teams that no one believes will be in the semifinals. They are Real Madrid and Villarreal. I remember when no one was sure,” said Ancelotti, quoted by Pedia content from the Marca website, Tuesday (26/4/2022).
However, it seems that Ancelotti does not want to set a high target in the first leg. He thinks the real match will be shown in the second leg, when it appears at Madrid’s home, Santiago Bernabeu.
“We have reached the semi-finals and are very happy. Real Madrid will always compete. However, this match will not be decided in this match. everything will be decided at the Bernabeu.”
