MANCHESTER: 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.
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.
Guardiola admitted at Monday’s pre-match press conference that his team, European champions in 2023, were “not even close” to finishing in the top eight, which meant automatic qualification for the last 16.
Real Madrid, European champions a record 15 times, secured a seeding for the knockout play-offs, meaning they host the second leg of the tie, which the City boss admitted was an advantage.
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“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.”
The Catalan said he still had faith in his team after a decade of success despite their struggles this season, during which he has had to cope with injuries and a loss of form.
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.”
And defender Ruben Dias said he believes City can still achieve something “beautiful” this season.
“Since I have been here this is maybe the most difficult season so far, but I am a firm believer that in the most difficult scenario you can still achieve something beautiful,” the Portugal international said.
“We know it will be difficult to get there but we have to believe in what we have in the dressing room. With the right belief, we are able to do anything.”
The second leg of the play-off tie takes place at Real’s Bernabeu stadium on February 19.
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