Pep Guardiola says he has an idea about how his Manchester City team can beat Real Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, after last night’s 1-1 draw.
With City's star striker Erling Haaland largely neutralised by Real's defence, Guardiola saw Vinicius Jnr and Kevin De Bruyne trade long-range goals in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, leaving the tie finely balanced ahead of next Wednesday’s showdown at the Etihad Stadium.
“I'd have liked to win but I had the feeling that I was not expecting to have a wide result,” Guardiola told City’s official website. “We expect to adjust a bit in the second leg. I have a bit of an idea on what we need to do.
“It will be a final playing at home with our people and we look forward to it. We know exactly what [Real] have done. Maybe they will adjust something, maybe not.
“We have to see if we can defend a little bit better in some departments and attack because [David] Alaba and [Antonio] Rudiger were so close to Erling. The spaces were occupied by [Federico] Valverde and [Toni] Kroos, it was not easy to find spaces for Erling.
“But we will try to adjust something maybe in the second leg to be more fluid and play with a bit more rhythm because we play at home and at home we feel comfortable with our people. We are going to try.”
'You wouldn't choose anyone else'
Jack Grealish was involved in the build-up to City’s equaliser and felt the moment was made for De Bruyne.
“I said to myself that we’ll only score from a shot from the edge of the box,” Grealish told the club's website. “We had a few in the first half. When it fell to Kev, it was unbelievable, man. We see it every day in training. You wouldn’t choose anyone else for it to fall to.
— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne) May 9, 2023
“They had their chances, we had a few as well. I really enjoyed it, I loved it. You can have nerves. These are the nights you play football for. These are the nights you dream of playing in. It’s like a dream come true, really.
“I had a text from my mum before the game saying these are the nights you dreamed of as a kid. You pinch yourself."
'I've never felt so confident'
City are aiming to avoid a repeat of last season's semi-final against Real Madrid, when they lost 6-5 on aggregate over the two legs.
“We have a new team, with different players from a year ago," said Grealish. "One thing is that we’ve learned so much from last year. We have the perfect balance of experience and a few youngsters, like Phil [Foden] and Erling. Youngsters like that who are just world-class.
“And then we have the experience. We just have quality. I swear I’ve never felt so confident going onto the pitch and just having these players around me.”
