Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his side faces a daunting task after suffering a heavy defeat to Real Madrid, but insists the team will still fight for a comeback in the return leg.
City were beaten 3–0 by the Spanish giants in their latest European encounter on Wednesday evening, courtsey of a brilliant hat-trick from Frederico Valverede, leaving the Premier League champions with a difficult challenge heading into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Guardiola acknowledged the scale of the defeat and admitted that overturning the result will not be easy.
“I don’t think we have much chance, but I have to say, of course, we’re going to try,” he said. “We’ll be there with our people and we’ll do our best to be more active in the final third. Obviously 3-0 is better than four. It’s a tough result and we cannot deny it.”
The Spanish manager also praised Madrid’s quality, highlighting the influence of midfielder Federico Valverde, whose performance helped control the game.
Guardiola noted that his team will now use the coming days to recover and prepare for another attempt when the two sides meet again.
“We have six days, we recover and we will try again,” he added.
Despite the scoreline, Guardiola suggested that the performance itself did not fully reflect the margin of defeat.
“I had a feeling that we were better than the result said… but the result is here. We have one week and then we will see them at the Etihad,” he said.
The City boss also addressed the possibility of staging a comeback in front of their home supporters, noting that football often produces unpredictable outcomes.
“Now we recover mentally and physically and go to West Ham,” he said. “Then we will see. We will be with our people — I’m pretty sure they will come — and in football you never know. We will try.”
The 2023 UCL Champions must now regroup quickly for the decisive return leg against Madrid, where they will need a remarkable performance to overturn the three-goal deficit.
