Josko Gvardiol has revealed what Pep Guardiola said to the Manchester City players at half-time against Real Madrid.
After the first half, it seemed like City were lucky not to have conceded more than two goals.
The likes of Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior continued to find acres of space to exploit and if Real Madrid had their finishing boots on, they could have put a couple of more goals past Pep Guardiola’s men.
Ahead of Tuesday’s clash, it would have been fair to expect Manchester City to beat Real Madrid over two legs and qualify for the semi-finals.
However, in the first 45 minutes, Los Blancos reminded why they are widely regarded as the kings of this competition with a display full of swagger and fearlessness.
The Sky Blues, on the other hand, seemed to have quite a half-baked approach to their game.
City seemed set up to go for the kill but simultaneously, they did not seem fully assured while trying to do so but their gung-ho approach left them exposed at the back.
Gvardiol shares what Guardiola said at half-time vs Real Madrid
At least in the same fixture last season, Vinicius Junior’s goal emerged due to his world-class quality.
This time around, while Carlo Ancelotti’s side did get lucky due to their goals being deflections, they also exploited City’s weaknesses at the back, which have been consistent this season.
However, as any top team does, the treble-winners responded in style, with Phil Foden’s strike raising the roof at the Bernabeu, as Ally McCoist rightly stated that he is “on fire” this season.
Josko Gvardiol perhaps produced an even superior strike with his weaker right foot, leading Gary Lineker to describe his goal as “stunning.”
Federico Valverde equalised soon after but it is undeniable that City would be far happier about the result in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final than the Spanish giants.
The question is what Guardiola said to his players at half-time when things looked awry for his team.
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol disclosed what Pep Guardiola said to him and his teammates after the break against Real Madrid.
“We talked about…that there are still 45 minutes to play and one more game at home so that we should be focused in the way we play, how we play and to not lose our minds and I guess, that’s what we did. We played a really good game tonight”, the £77.6 million man told the club’s in-house media.
Clearly, Josko Gvardiol and his Manchester City teammates listened to Pep Guardiola and kept their heads in the second half as they started to grow into the game against Real Madrid.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola showed his experience
It would have been justified for the Catalan to be furious with City’s first-half performance and lay into his players in the dressing room.
Instead, as Josko Gvardiol revealed, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola relayed a simple message to his players to stay focused against Real Madrid.
Additionally, Guardiola seemingly has the confidence to host Los Merengues at the Etihad Stadium.
Considering Manchester City already seemed anxious during the game, the last thing they perhaps needed to hear was a heated team talk where further nerves kick into the game.
Guardiola was cool, calm and collected and it is clear to see that he knows the ins and outs of European football.
