Manchester City are in danger of crashing out of the Champions League on Wednesday evening. Coach Pep Guardiola's team need a win in the second leg at Real Madrid. The game is available exclusively on blue Sport.
19.02.2025, 05:00
19.02.2025, 09:40
SDA
A week after conceding two late goals in the 3-2 defeat in Manchester, Pep Guardiola was under no illusions ahead of the second leg. "If you ask before the game how big a chance we have of progressing at the Bernabeu, it's probably one percent," said the Spaniard after the 4-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend.
Guardiola's pessimism is supported by the fact that his team have lost their last three away games in the Champions League, that Real Madrid have progressed in 37 of 39 away games after winning the first leg and that striker Kylian Mbappé has rediscovered his goalscoring touch alongside Vinicius Junior at the Spanish defending champions after struggling to get going.
City's upward trend
But there is also reason for hope. While the Citizens have recently shown an upward trend and climbed back into a Champions League place in the Premier League, Real Madrid have lost the lead in the Spanish table after three games without a win. In the first leg, in which Manuel Akanji suffered an abductor injury, the two European heavyweights were evenly matched. It was only in the closing stages that Manchester City slipped away from a better position, with Brahim Diaz equalizing in the 86th minute and Jude Bellingham scoring the winner in the 92nd minute.
Guardiola therefore remained combative. "The chance is minimal, but as long as there is a chance, we will try." If his team had always played like they did against Newcastle on Saturday in the Champions League, they would not have finished 22nd in the league, said the 54-year-old.
BVB and PSG with nice cushions
For Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, advancing to the round of 16 is a formality after the first leg. BVB, who have been disappointing in the Bundesliga and convincing in the Champions League so far, and French leaders PSG go into their home games against Sporting Lisbon and Brest with a 3-0 cushion. Juventus Turin take a 2-1 lead into their game in Eindhoven.
