Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, says that his team’s game of the Champions League with Real Madrid ‘thanks to the number of games that the teams had against each other in the past seasons feel like a derby.
City knew that in the play-off round you would either play in the holding real or Bayern Munich, and their fate was decided during the draw on Friday morning.
Real painted City at the quarter-finals last season and the teams have played eight games since Ferbuary 2020 the city made progress in 2020 and 2023 and was actively eliminated in 2022 and last year.
The play-offs of the knockout phase are set ✅#Ucldraw pic.twitter.com/9KWMSGQWOD
– UEFA Champions League (@Championsleague) January 31, 2025
“It feels like a derby,” said Guardiola. “It is four years in a row that opposes Real Madrid.
“But Bayern or Madrid – both were really hard. Hopefully we can arrive here in the first leg and then in Madrid as well as possible. “
The strenuous schedule of the city in February now sees twice real, Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal this Sunday.
Guardiola said that the Premier League teams get a hard trip with games around the Champions League games compared to other pages in European leagues in the Champions League.
“The broadcasters decide”
He said, “The schedule is what it is. Every team has to play everyone in the Premier League. But normally you have always made the hardest schedules for teams in Europe in the Premier League.
“The schedule is the most difficult because it is difficult to play against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, but the problem is in the middle of Newcastle.
Pep 💬 (on Rodri) I always believe that there is a time with long injuries that you have to respect. In the first month he was in Madrid all the time. Now it’s nice to have him here in the changing room. His voice is important … the most important thing for Rodri is now to recover well … from … pic.twitter.com/ilkhssmwks
– Manchester City (@mancity) January 31, 2025
“We don’t complain because we have incredible success to play this calendar.
“I remember when I was in Barcelona and the Premier League followed, and Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger made the same complaints.
“Do you think it will change? The broadcasters decide that they don’t ask me what is better to play. “
Arsenal was in the last two Premier League campaigns as a second place in the city and Guardiola has a great respect for the job that his former assistant Mikel Areta did with the Gunners.
He said, “Our relationship is exceptional. Exceptional with him and his family.
“Of course we are not in contact now, he has his business and I have mine and other games, but the respect we have is always there.”
