Manchester City hosted a Pep Guardiola press conference on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match with Real Madrid.
Manchester City are riding high after a massive week in the Premier League title race which saw them move to the top of the pile.
Pep Guardiola’s side piled the pressure on Liverpool and Arsenal with a 5-1 win over Luton Town on Saturday before their title rivals both lost on Sunday.
City are two points clear with six games remaining and now have destiny in their own hands.
There will be a switch of attention on Wednesday, though, as City return to European competition to face Real Madrid.
The scores are level after a pulsating first leg in the Champions League quarter-final ended 3-3 at the Bernabeu last week,
It’s all on the line at the Etihad Stadium and Guardiola has given his thoughts in his pre-match press conference, broadcast on City’s official website.
READ MORE: Guardiola to make six changes, £62m player to start… Man City predicted line-up vs Real Madrid
Pep Guardiola’s Man City vs Real Madrid press conference
How big is a game against Real Madrid?
“Always have been and always will be. Real Madrid in this competition, always a big game.”
Does this game motivate you the most?
“It’s special for me, of course it is.
“Many times as a footballer and manager but this doesn’t count, what counts is what you have to do to win tomorrow and we have to adjust something we have not done really good in Bernabeu.
“The result was really good, counting where you play against the opponent you play, it’s more than fine but we have to perform a little bit better. Today we will have the last training, talk about that and go for it.”
Is the pressure off after winning the Champions League before?
“I hope not. You need to feel that pressure. You don’t want to lose the game.
“If you think ‘okay, we’ve done it already’, we won’t have this piece of hunger to compete against the teams.
“So it’s true the fact we won it, we feel better, comfortable, but you have to take the right energy. I think our people at home will help us a lot, we sold out everything and we need a lot of noise.
“We need a lot of presence of them especially in bad moments because what I said before the game in Madrid, you are 90 minutes all the time you are better.
“There are moments you have to suffer. Results can not be good and we need them. They will be, I’m pretty sure of that because they know we will be.
“In these types of games I’m not talking win or losing, I’m talking about be present, be who we are.
“Always we have been in the last years and I have the feeling that we are prepared to perform well.
“At maximum our best otherwise we can not reach the semi-finals against teams like Madrid.”
How do you cope with the busy schedule?
“I’m used. It’s better to be here, it’s better to be Wednesday, Saturday then don’t be here, so I will not complain one second about that. It is what it is.
“So we want more days to prepare but it is what it is. 24 hours a day is a lot so you can find a way, have a lot of people help you.
“The important is to take the right decisions and that’s what you think more than the fact of work because last season we played against Madrid, last week we play. We know each other.
“They know what we know. We have to be wary of the surprises Carlo has done in the first game and right mentality, ready to suffer.
“It never ends until it ends in a good way and a bad way. Always we have momentum and desire and hopefully extending as long as possible in that way always we can do it.”
Kyle Walker injury latest
“I’m going to see the training. The last one or two rainings he trained good, he feels good. His face his mood.
“I don’t know from the beginning, I don’t know from the bench, I don’t know but I think he will be with us tomorrow and like Bernardo said it’s incredibly good news for many reasons.
“Today at 4pm we have the last training session and then decide.”
How important is Walker if he is fit?
“Of course he’s important. In Europe, the physicality is massively important, how you challenge your opponent.
“In that you lose the quality from Kyle, everybody knows it. He’s special.
“He was not in Bernabeu and all the guys were exceptional because in Bernabeu we had big, big problem because Nathan was not there, Josko wasn’t until the last minute, Kyle wasn’t there so we had a big problem.
“Today we are in a better position to switch some players and make some adjustments in case we need it. It’s important that Kyle and Nathan being on the bench, they train and we need it because they make a good effort.
“It’s important that Kyle and Nathan being on the bench, they train yesterday and they feel good. After the training say how you feel, yeah feel good, feel good. It’s good news. After we decide.”
Guardiola on Jude Bellingham
“I think Bellingham shows playing at the top clubs Madrid, Barcelona, it is not easy to settle quick and he settled a lot quicker.
“From the beginning, he was huge in terms of goals, in terms of presence and many things at his age. I think he handles the pressure without a problem and have a good mentality.
“He’s an exception player. What can I say? We have to control him.”
Would you like to see Bellingham in England?
“I don’t know that’s a question for him. I think he can when playing for the national team at Wembley. It’s a question for him, I don’t know.”
Bernardo Silva says Madrid are stronger, do you agree?
“Okay, maybe, I wouldn’t say I disagree with Bernardo but I don’t completely agree either.
“So, last season Madrid had a really, really good [team].
“Different ones like Benzema, he move all the positions and Luka Modrid was playing more minutes but look at how Modric just the few minutes he played was amazing at the Bernabeu.
“I think it’s an exceptional team last season, the previous one, this one. Madrid always has a good team, this is my feeling.
“I know when I said good things at Real Madrid, people don’t believe me in Madrid they want to say some jokes I always believe.
“It’s not about that. When I was a footballer, a manager, I always have a good opinion about their quality, the history of Real Madrid always have been that.
“What the people have to think about my comments is really honestly not my business.”
Motivated to win back-to-back Trebles?
“I’m not going to say don’t feel this to my players when they feel it. I have a different opinion.
“We are far away from those hypothetical dreams. When we are in the final of the FA Cup, when we are one or two games left with three, four, five points advantage, when we are in the final of the Champions League I will start to think about that.
“But before the game against Madrid, you see yesterday Chelsea how strong they are.
“When it’s two points difference, when I was two points down Arsenal and Liverpool I was thinking we have to do our job it’s not over. Now we are two in front it’s not over. It’s the same feeling I have the previous weeks.
“When we draw against Arsenal and the people say, no chance of the computer. The computer, I don’t know if the computer play right-back or left-back I don’t know how it discovered it.
“When the computer say you don’t have chance, then you have chance, nothing change for me so there’s six games. We have a lot of difficult games.
“Home and away with the opponents, we have, they have. It’s one game at a time, a game at the time means Madrid tomorrow.
“What do we have to do to beat them, Step by step. Honestly, I started to think about the treble when we beat United in the FA Cup final last season.
“After I said okay, we are now one game away to do something exceptional but the success for me this season still we are there.
“After winning the treble to still be in that position with five weeks remaining, being in contention to be there, is incredible.
“But at the same time we are here, extend this chance one more week. It is what we try to do tomorrow, Saturday and the next games.”
A relief to not have the pressure of being Barcelona manager when facing Madrid?
“It is what it is. You can not control that time what happened, I can not control what happened here. I can control here in front of you, my job and the rest I can’t do it.
“Of course, Madrid (versus) Barcelona is so special for many, many reasons through history. When you play the semi-final of Champions League, it’s normal.
“A long time ago, we leave it there. Experience that. Now is different, of course, but at the same time it’s a football game.
“They want to beat us, we want to beat them and I have the feeling we will perform well. We are excited, happy, nervous a little bit.
“A mix of feelings before tomorrow that is nice to have it. It is better to be here than not be, it’s a lot of games.
“Forget about it, in October, November I complained lots of games because still is far away but we one month away from being in all competitions again after winning two titles this season, three last season at home, we believe we can do whatever we can with incredible energy, with our people we feel safe, we feel protected, we feel supported.
“We know we can handle the momentum, we can do a lot of things in few times and from the beginning we are going for it.
“We have a game plan and believe in that, we go. Win or lose. We lose against Madrid, shake hands, congratulations, for sure they’ll deserve it.
“We try, we’re going to play for the fact we reach a semi-final we deserve it. I want to play so we deserve to be in the sem-final, this is what I want.
“For that we know exactly what we need to do.”
How will this game be different to previous meetings?
“If yesterday we play against Madrid, then today would be different. Not any game is completely the same.
“Of course it will not be like last season, we know it. They learn, we learn, it’s impossible.
“We know each other better so we know it. But at the same time we try to do what we have to do and it’s the most difficult week.
“It is what it is. I said before I prefer to play the more difficult, yeah it is, the teams who can not play when it’s difficult can not play it.
“It’s nice to be here. We have the chance to be four years in a row semi-finals of the Champions League, this is something exceptional for a club like Man City.
“Exceptional. This is the dream, the target, this is what we have to try to do.”
Have you taken aspects from other spots into football?
“A few. I like lots of sports but I’ve not had time to watch many, to be honest. 11 years of having games every three days it’s difficult.
“I ask about different sports and what things we can take from them, that’s for sure.”
Madrid surprised you, are you prepared?
“We have to be prepared but we won’t know until the 10th, 15th minute the qualities of who’s playing and looking at the way they’re playing the game.
“There are some things we need to be better, we need to be better in certain aspects that we weren’t good in the first game.
“That’s not for the merit of what we did, we have to give them credit. Real Madrid aren’t any opponents, what they did we have to adjust to it and see what we can do to impose our way of playing as much as possible.
“It’s impossible to do that for 90 minutes and they are not able to do it for 90 minutes either.”
Are Madrid the team you fear the most?
“No, I don’t fear them. I respect them a lot. I’ve faced them many times. I’m not going to talk about great things about them.
“They’re a great side, I give you my opinion. I respect Real Madrid. You asked me a question I give my opinion and if I said I am scared of them I would be being false.
“I spoke about the condition of the pitch and I said it with all the best wishes in the world, it’s their decision to change their pitch.
“You can believe what you want when I speak. I’ve played against them many times as a player and I’ve always had great respect for Real Madrid and I have to have respect.
“Obviously in a rivalry you want to beat them you want to do well. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I want to do as well as we can. Be ourselves.
“If we can’t be, then it doesn’t matter but I’m not scared of them.
“I have great respect for them and if they beat me as has happened many times I will say congratulations and wish them well for the future.”
Expect something different from Carlo Ancelotti?
“I believe you. We can forget about the press conferences that would be great, we can do that right now.
“But I think it will be. You’re playing Real Madrid, they want to attack you, create chances.
“They are very, very dangerous they have always been that team that can cause you problems and they know we’re going to give everything in the game.
“We’re going to try and win it. I think it’s good. The games have been good in the previous years and I think tomorrow the games will also be a good game.
“Perhaps they will do something different, we will have to wait and see what happens. It’s a knock-out game they will have seen the way that we play, they will adjust certain things, so we will see what happens.
“I’m sure it’ll be different, we have to be prepared if they make changes and we have to make adjustments as soon as possible.”