Guardiola must avoid another Euro meltdown to show City deserve their place at top table
PEP GUARDIOLA comes face to face with the “kings” of Europe tonight, knowing Manchester City will have to overcome much more than the players Zinedine Zidane puts out at the Etihad.
It is the aura that follows Real Madrid and the sheer weight of history stacked against City in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.
As such, victory will be far more symbolic than simply the result of one game. It will perhaps be the final frontier in Guardiola’s mission to convince City they belong among Europe’s elite.
“It is the biggest team in this competition and they show that to the world,” City midfielder Rodri said of Real. “But now football has changed a bit — the distances between teams are so narrow.
“I know we have the better team, but we have to show it on the pitch. We’ve got to match Real Madrid on what they may have that is better than us and that is experience in these games.”
Guardiola, whose side hold a 2-1 lead from the first leg, has long believed City’s lack of experience has cost them in Europe’s premier competition.
Too often they have been caught in the headlights at critical moments, allowing themselves to be blown away by Monaco, Liverpool and Tottenham in his three previous Champions League campaigns at the club.
Victory in Madrid in February — coming from a goal behind — felt like a seminal moment for a club that has often seemed like it suffered an inferiority complex on such occasions.
Now it is a case of getting the job done and avoiding the meltdowns that have cost them before. Guardiola said: “More than conceding goals it’s the way we concede them.
“When they are brilliant, we accept it. But most of the goals we could avoid. Making mistakes like that in this competition punishes you.
“If we want to make a step forward as a team to be close to winning this competition, then we must be better in this area.”
Real Madrid, of course, know all about winning the competition. Zidane, in his short coaching career, has already led Los Blancos to three straight titles between 2016 and 2018. To advance to the final phase, Madrid will need one of their memorable Euro nights.
Many of those have come away from home, with wins at Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax in recent seasons.
All but one, including the 4-0 thrashing of Guardiola’s Bayern at the Allianz Arena in 2014, were achieved with Cristiano Ronaldo and Madrid have not still replaced the prolific Portuguese.
Their captain, Sergio Ramos, is also out suspended from his red card in the first leg, while Gareth Bale — scorer of three Champions League final goals for Real — was left out of the squad.
Real’s recent La Liga triumph was built on defensive stability — they conceded 25 goals in 38 games — more than attacking flair, but tonight they need both.
“We have a good team and we have our weapons,” Zidane said. “We have to think about advancing to the final phase.”
Anything less would be seen as a failure for the 13-time winners.