Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola’s claim that the 2023 champions League champions have just a one percent chance of beating the Spanish juggernaut in the second leg of the UCL playoffs. “Honestly, not even (Guardiola) believes what he said, but I’m going to ask him about it before the game anyway,” the Italian joked in a press conference on Tuesday.
“He doesn’t think they have a one percent chance of advancing and neither do we think we are 99 percent favourites. We have a small advantage due to what we did at Manchester and we have to use it in our favour. Learning to play with the advantage is a psychological issue and it is difficult to deal with it. I could come here and say that we have no advantage and will play as if we were 0-0… but it’s nonsense and nobody would believe me. What you can control is the attitude of the team and ensure we play the same game as a week ago because it went well for us. But you can’t forget that you have the advantage,” he added.
Last week, Real came back to win 3-2 against City at the Etihad in another classic encounter between the two teams which have lit up the tournament in recent times.
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a classic match in the modern Champions League: A 3-3 draw in the quarterfinals last year and a thrilling 3-1 win for Madrid in extra-time to decide their semifinal in 2022. Each time coach Ancelotti’s team went on to win the title, extending the record to 15 in the competition’s 70-year history.
Their first meeting in Madrid, a group-stage game in September 2012, was a late comeback by Madrid with two goals after the 85th minute to win 3-2 — just as it was in Manchester last Tuesday in the first leg.
That 2012-13 season was the last time City did not play in the round of 16. The English champion’s streak of 11 straight years, including finally lifting the trophy in 2023, is at serious risk Wednesday.
(With agency inputs)
