SOFT GOALS... HARD LESSONS

Pep insists if City are serious about Euro glory they must toughen up at back

PEP GUARDIOLA has admitted Manchester City must stop conceding soft goals if they are serious about winning the Champions League – starting against Real Madrid.

For all their brilliance going forward, City have ultimately come unstuck in Europe in recent seasons because of their ongoing frailties at the back.

In the quarter-finals against Tottenham last season, two goals conceded in three minutes early on in the second leg at home ultimately did for the Blues. It was a similar story the previous season away to Liverpool at the same stage, where three goals shipped in 19 minutes killed off any hope City had in the return leg.

And in Guardiola’s debut season, two goals conceded in quick succession in each leg against Monaco saw City dumped out at the last-16 stage on away goals.

It is a recurring problem Guardiola conceded City – who lead Real 2-1 from the first leg – must solve starting tonight, if they are to have any chance of realising their long-held dream of being crowned champions of Europe.

As Guardiola said about it: “Definitely. More than just conceding the goals, the way we concede the goals. If the opponents are brilliant and make a good action, we have to accept it. But most of them were goals we could have avoided.

“We have to avoid making mistakes like that because this competition punishes you a lot.

“We know it. We’ve spoken about that, not now, not this week, but in the last years many times in important games like this.

“If we want to make a step forward as a team, to be close to win this competition, we have to be better in this area.

“Quite often managers plan for games, but the game speaks for itself, the way it develops dictates it. We want to impose our style on the game and we want to take the game into areas where we can hurt them – where our quality can stand out.”

When City won 2-1 at the Bernabeu in February in the first leg of this last-16 tie, it was the first time Guardiola and Zidane had faced each other as coaches. But the City boss is impressed by his opposite number’s tactical prowess. “When you think you have one of his plans covered, he’ll hit you with another,” said Guardiola.

”It’s very difficult to analyse his tactics. We’ve watched all of Real’s games since lockdown and spoken of how we think they’ll approach this game. We’ve talked of how we can hurt them – that’s what we’ve focused on in the buildup to this match.”

Having not won the Champions League since 2011 with Barcelona, Guardiola knows the pressure is on to prove his pedigree by knocking out Real and take City a step closer to their last great unfulfilled ambition.