Following Manchester City’s hard-fought 1-1 draw against the reigning Champions League holders, Real Madrid, in the first leg of their semi-final encounter, Pep Guardiola has emphasized the need for his team to improve their defensive and offensive performances.
Kevin De Bruyne leveled the score with a commanding strike after Vinicius Junior’s impressive opening goal. Despite City’s strong start, Eduardo Camavinga effortlessly evaded their pressing and played a crucial role in Vinicius’ exceptional goal.
The first half lacked significant action, but Madrid showcased a more expansive style of play in the second half, asserting dominance in possession. Nevertheless, De Bruyne’s goal halted their momentum. The two teams will reconvene at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, May 17th, for the second leg of the competition.
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Guardiola summed up the contest with one line when speaking to BT Sport: “When we were better they score, when they were better we score.”
“It was a tight, tight game, Bernabeu semi-final is always difficult. We had good moments but sometimes it was difficult with the quality they have with the ball. But yeah, 1-1, it’s a final next Wednesday with our people next week.”
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“We start really well in the second half as well,” Guardiola insisted. “Five, ten minutes, then after they got the game, we could not take it. They make a lot of passes, they put a lot of players on the left side, they are really, really good there. But after we make a fantastic goal from Kevin and we had some good moments. Then at the end they also have a few chances. It was a tight, tight game.”
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have struggled to stick with Barcelona in the race for La Liga but remain a force to be reckoned with in the competition that Real Madrid have won a record 14 times. “it is so demanding,” Guardiola gushed.
“They are so good, they have experience and quality. But now we travel to Manchester and we will see what we can do better. We you play these kinds of games it’s like a playoff, so the second [leg] you learn a lot from the first, hopefully we can learn to defend better and attack better.”
Outside of a handful of fleeting sights of goal in the first half, Erling Haaland was kept on the peripheries of the contest. Guardiola explained how Madrid muzzled the forward with 51 goals to his name this season.
“The distance between the central defenders and the full-backs was occupied for attacking midfielders, for [Luka] Modric, for Toni Kroos, for [Fede] Valverde. So there was a twin central defender close to Erling, it was not easy for him.“