Pep’s Real warning after semi shocker
ARSENAL 2 MANCHESTER CITY 0
PEP GUARDIOLA fears his flops risk being torn apart by rampant Real Madrid in the Champions League unless they raise their game.
Manchester City’s hopes of a Treble went up in smoke following their shock FA Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal at Wembley.
On August 7, they host a side that sealed the Spanish title with a game to spare, winning 10 games in a row since the restart.
City lead 2-1 from the first leg of their last-16 showdown but Guardiola fears the club’s dream of winning Europe’s biggest prize for the first time could turn into a nightmare.
He said: “I don’t have to tell them.We know the standards that we have to be at these kinds of stages and competitions.
“Maybe we will learn and maybe not. We will see.We struggled to play at our level and we know it. You don’t have to be a genius to realise we have to increase our standard against Madrid if we want to go through.
“We have two weeks and we want to play in the final [of the Champions League]. We want to be in rhythm. It is the last opportunity we have to go through.”
Guardiola insisted his players are still up for the fight after being left behind in the Premier League by Liverpool.
He said: “They have to [keep motivated].As a manager, we motivate them and tell them what to do, so they have to.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both goals and although City had much of the ball after the break, they lacked a cutting edge.
Guardiola said: “We had to play the whole 90 minutes and played just 45. In the first half everything was sloppy and not the right speed for this kind of game.”