“It’s impossible to control these players over two games” - Guardiola on what Man City must do to reduce influence of ‘exceptional’ Real Madrid stars

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes his team must impose themselves across two legs to beat Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. The Cityzens are set to face Los Blancos in the play-off round to make it through the final-16 of the competition.

The first of these two meetings is set to take place at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday (February 11). Speaking ahead of the first leg, Guardiola addressed the opposition's attacking threat and stated (via @MadridXtra):

"Real Madrid's attack? It's impossible to control these players over the two games. They're all exceptional. We have to reduce their influence as much as possible. We must have the ability to stop them when we have the ball and stop them from running. We will try to impose our game, be clever to get a good result for the Bernabeu."

Despite Guardiola's comments, some Manchester City fans may feel slightly more confident than they did a few weeks ago. Carlo Ancelotti's team haven't been in the best of form of late, having won just one of their last three fixtures across competitions.

Having said that, Real Madrid still hold significant firepower in their frontline, including the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. The France international has played 34 appearances across competitions this campaign, bagging 22 goals and three assists.

Meanwhile, Vinicius has featured 29 times in all competitions this year, bagging 16 goals and 10 assists.

---

Pep Guardiola says he wishes to face Real Madrid at home in second leg

Pep Guardiola

Manchester City star Pep Guardiola says he would have liked to have faced Real Madrid at home in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off fixture.

The former Barcelona boss believes that the fixture could do with the help of fans, particularly if it goes into extra time after 180 minutes of action. He said ahead of the first leg (via the club's official website):

“To be honest it is always better to have a second leg at home in case you have extra time with your people."

“We play the second game away because we were not good in the group stage - when you finish 22nd you cannot ask for any favours," Guardiola added.

Manchester City have had a difficult group stage in this competition, finishing just two spots above the final qualification spot. They've also been struggling in the Premier League, placed fifth in the standings at the moment.