Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, spoke about the upcoming match against Real Madrid, scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. In the press conference for the match, he stated: "Facing Real Madrid is a special match for me, but what matters is what we need to deliver tomorrow as a team." He continued: "We need to adjust things we didn't do well at the Bernabéu. We need to perform slightly better. We will discuss that and try to implement it."
He added: "We want to feel the pressure. We do not want to lose this match; we need to be hungry to compete. We want the fans in our stadium to help us a lot." He confirmed: "We have to prepare for the match, but we won't know the capabilities of our opponents until 10 minutes in. Real Madrid is not just any opponent; we have to improve our way of playing as much as possible."
He continued: "Walker has trained well, and he feels he is in good shape. I do not know if he will start, but I believe he is available for this match; I will see in the last training sessions if he is good."
He added: "Jude Bellingham has quickly adapted to Real Madrid, and that is not easy. He is an exceptional player with a great mentality, and we need to watch him closely." When asked if he wanted to see Bellingham in England in the future, Guardiola dodged the question and said that "the person concerned with answering this question is Bellingham himself."
He further stated: "I am not afraid of facing Real Madrid. I have faced them several times... Yes, I respect them, but that does not mean I am afraid of them." He continued: "We need to be ready. They know us well, and we must offer some surprises as Ancelotti did at the Bernabéu."
Regarding the possibility of exiting the tournament, he revealed: "If we lose to Madrid, you have to shake their hands and congratulate them. But I want to play in a way that makes us deserving of reaching the semi-finals." He elaborated: "We will not control the match for 90 minutes, nor will they. The feeling of danger with Real Madrid is always present."
On whether he sees complexity in his match schedule, he remarked: "We are used to it. It is better to be present in these matches than not qualifying to play them." He emphasized: "I will never complain about it. It is what it is. An additional 24 hours to prepare is important. I am ready to suffer until the end."
