Former Barcelona and current Bayern Munich manager, Pep Guardiola, took a subtle swipe at Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo after his side qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League by beating Benfica with an aggregate score of 3-2.
The Catalan enjoyed stoking the rivalry with the Portuguese superstar while he was manager of Barcelona – who meanwhile lost to Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals – by hinting that while Ronaldo is the global superstar, the myth of him scoring against small teams stands.
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Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against VFL Wolfsburg two night ago with the Germans massive underdogs going into the game even though they held a 2-0 lead. Speaking to reporters after the game, Pep said, "I know Cristiano Ronaldo would prefer Benfica in the next round."
"So I am sorry that he will not have the opportunity to play them."
We need to control the games better: Pep
Even though Pep's side saw off a resilient Benfica, Pep was insistent that his side need to focus more – even if they meet his next employers, Manchester City.
"At the end of the day, a coach must win titles and as many games as possible," he said, "And I have won many titles and many games."
"Benfica pushed us very hard, even though they were missing some important players. We attacked better than in Munich and that was the difference."
Now in a bit of a sticky situation, Pep admits that while he face City next season, he's still a Bayern Munich manager.
"Everybody knows I will be at Manchester City next year and perhaps we will meet them in the next round, but we could meet any of the remaining teams and we are focused on the most important issue, which is getting to the final.
"We controlled the match for 90 minutes," he concluded, "And we need to keep doing that all the way to the final."
