Pep Guardiola has dismissed talk of his Manchester City side being motivated by revenge against Real Madrid tomorrow.
City face Los Blancos in a Champions League semi final showdown, for the second season running, as Guardiola’s charges push for a potential trophy treble in 2023.
Guardiola looked set to storm past Carlo Ancelotti’s team in 2022, after winning the first leg 4-3 in Manchester, and leading 1-0 in Madrid, as the game ticked into added time.
However, an incredible late turnaround from Rodrygo Goes and Karim Benzema dumped City out, and ended Guardiola’s chances of a first Champions League title since 2011.
The subject of a revenge mission was a key focus of Guardiola’s press conference in Madrid but the Catalan insisted his focus is solely on the task ahead.
“We are not here for revenge”, as per quotes from BBC Sport.
“That would be a mistake. We played exceptionally well last year in Manchester and we were very good here, but it wasn’t enough. What happened in the past is in the past.”
Guardiola opted against training with his City side at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this evening with his squad remaining in their hotel in the build up to the the game.