Pep Guardiola concedes Real Madrid’s superiority ahead of crucial UCL battle – ‘1% chance of winning’ | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that his team is heading into the second leg of their Champions League play-off against Real Madrid with a sense of realism.

After their 3-2 defeat in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola has made it clear that Real Madrid are the overwhelming favourites to progress to the last 16.

He admitted that the chances of City winning at the Santiago Bernabeu are extremely slim. In his words, the chance of success is minimal, and he isn’t sure if it even reaches 1%.

“The margin of chance to win at the Bernabeu, and everyone knows that. I don’t know if it reaches 1% or how much, but it is minimal,” he admitted as quoted by MARCA.

Coming on the back of a win

Following an impressive 4-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League, Manchester City now faces a tough challenge.

To advance to the next round, they need to either win by a one-goal margin to force extra time or secure a victory by two goals or more to progress within the 90 minutes of regular time.

Pep Guardiola is not too optimistic about the Real Madrid tie. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Guardiola remains optimistic but realistic about their situation, acknowledging that while the win against Newcastle gives them a boost, it doesn’t change the harsh reality of their Champions League predicament.

“It is clear that this victory helps us and we will try as much as possible, that is for sure, but this is not the reality of the team.”

Guardiola admitted that it is certainly better to travel to Madrid with a victory rather than another disappointing defeat, especially one that came late in the game. However, he was quick to point out that their chances of turning the tie around are slim due to the result in the first leg.

“It’s clear that it’s better to travel to Madrid with this result than with another defeat in the last few minutes. But our chances are minimal because the result in the first leg was not good,” he noted.

With just five minutes remaining in the first leg, City were leading 2-1, but the late goals by Real Madrid changed the course of the match.

Guardiola emphasised that although their chances are few, the team will do their best to capitalise on any opportunities that come their way, and they will give it everything they’ve got in the second leg.

“Five minutes before the end we were 2-1 up and things were different. At 2-3, the chances are few, but we’ll try to take advantage of our opportunities and we’ll see what happens,” he concluded.