Pep Guardiola reveals Manchester City had been thinking about Real Madrid since last season

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola denied in the build up to their knockout tie that his side were out for revenge, but having beaten Real Madrid, he did then acknowledge that a thorn in their side had been removed.

Guardiola’s City crushed Real Madrid 4-0 in the second leg, with a certain sense of catharsis following their dramatic defeat in last season’s semi-final. Afterwards, Guardiola not only admitted that, but also revealed he had been paying attention to Real Madrid over the last 12 months.

“I have the feeling that we played with the feeling of pain from the defeat last season in our stomachs. I remember that I heard Toni Kroos say in an interview months later that they could have lost 10-1 here, and they won the tie.”

“It means that we were good, but there were details, we could open up a margin, the return leg we weren’t good, as we were this year. For a year, this was very present in our stomachs. And today we got rid of all that. In energy, in desire. Football always gives you second chances. Gives you revenge. When we got Real Madrid in the draw, and we got past Bayern, I thought that’s fine.”

Real Madrid have been held up as the example in European competition in recent years, following unprecedented success in the modern era. Meanwhile Guardiola’s struggles to win the competition since leaving Barcelona have been a stick to beat him with.

Should City go on and secure the title against Inter, then Guardiola will have total catharsis, tearing down narratives that have built for several years. It also shows the degree of pain Real Madrid inflicted on City last year, with the manner of their progression to the final.

Tags Barcelona Champions League Manchester City Pep Guardiola Real Madrid
La Liga - Club News