Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has opened up on his ‘surprise’ with the tactical setup of Real Madrid during the meeting between the two sides last week.
City and Real, of course, locked horns in Madrid on Tuesday night, in the first leg of their highly-anticipated Champions League quarter-final tie.
And what a show the two sides had in store…
A pulsating 90 minutes, featuring bags of quality and the goals to match, ultimately gave rise to a share of the spoils, in a 3-3 stalemate.
Attentions will now turn towards the return leg showdown at The Etihad this coming Wednesday, when the identity of the club primed to march on to the Champions League’s final-4 will be decided.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of the task awaiting his side in three days’ time was put to the aforementioned Pep Guardiola.
And, in his response, City’s headmaster went on to admit that his side will need to be better ‘prepared’, after being taken by surprise by the formation made use of by Real counterpart Carlo Ancelotti in the tie’s opener:
“They surprised us [in the first-leg] with positions of players and we have to take a look. Carlo [Ancelotti], with his experience, can do something differently and we have to be prepared. But at the same time, try to impose and put pressure.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
