Pep Guardiola said Manchester City will need a “perfect game” against Real Madrid to overturn a three-goal deficit and reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
City must win by at least three goals at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday after losing 3-0 in the last-16 first leg at Santiago Bernabéu last week.
Only three times in the past 20 years has a team come back from three goals down in the first leg to progress in the Champions League.
Man City have overturned big deficits at the Etihad in the past. Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
For City to do the same, Guardiola believes his team must be flawless.
“It has to be a perfect game in many, many departments,” Guardiola said at a news conference Monday. “Our people, the referee decisions — for many, many things, it has to be so good to make these kinds of things.
“We have to take more risks in terms of trying, but even if the result is not good in the first half, we have to keep going, carry on, go, because you never know. You never know.”
The Etihad has seen iconic comebacks before.
Guardiola was in charge in 2022 when City needed to beat Aston Villa on the final day of the season to win the Premier League.
Villa led 2-0 — a result which would have seen Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool crowned champions — before three goals in five minutes in the final stages earned City a fourth title in five years.
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“Four years ago we were losing 2-0 at home against Villa in the 70th minute. In 10 minutes, we scored three goals,” Bernardo Silva recalled. “I know that this might look a bit stupid what I’m about to say, but when I watched back [the first leg in Madrid], I didn’t see a reason for us to be losing 3-0 at halftime. The result was much worse than the performance in my opinion.
“Obviously in football that counts zero, that counts for nothing. In football a lot can happen, so we shouldn’t lose our heads. Stay in the game and try to create that atmosphere that everyone believes it is possible.”
Ahead of the game, Guardiola took the unusual step of cancelling his pre-match training session.
The City boss gave his players the day off Monday — something he also did before their 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the league phase in November.
“We’ll train tomorrow, instead of training today,” Guardiola said. “… We come from long trips, going to London is very long, because of the train, the planes, we arrive here [in Manchester] at 3 a.m. after the game against West Ham.
“Instead of training today, we’d rather be at home with our families, to rest, send each other WhatsApp messages. We’ll see each other tomorrow, we’ll train a bit, and then play the game.”
