Pep Guardiola looks forward to Champions League ‘home final’ against Real Madrid

MADRID – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is relishing playing a “final at home with our people” next week, as his team drew 1-1 at Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Real Madrid on Tuesday.

For once, City goal monster Erling Haaland was shackled by the Real defence. But when they needed a moment of magic, the reliable Kevin de Bruyne stepped up to equalise in an absorbing clash at the Bernabeu.

Vinicius Jr had scored for the home side with a stunning strike against the run of play in the first half, before de Bruyne netted an equally impressive shot after the break.

“It was a tight game,” said Guardiola.

“It will be a final playing at home with our people and we look forward to it. It’s like a play-off now.

“We know exactly what they have done. Maybe they will adjust something, maybe not. We have to see if we can defend a little bit better in some departments and attack because (David) Alaba and (Antonio) Rudiger were so close to Erling. It was not easy to find spaces for Erling.

“But we will try to adjust something maybe in the second leg to be more fluid and play with a bit more rhythm because we play at home and at home we feel comfortable with our people. We are going to try.”

The 31-year-old de Bruyne, like the rest of City’s high-quality collection of internationals, has been outshone by Haaland’s record-shredding first season in England.

Norwegian powerhouse Haaland has netted 51 goals in all competitions but he found Alaba and Rudiger a little less accommodating than the Premier League centre-backs he has bullied mercilessly all season.

He was kept relatively quiet, with Alaba denying him with one sensational covering tackle, but de Bruyne popped up to make sure City emerged from the Bernabeu with at least a draw.

With Real looking comfortable and threatening to add to the lead given to them by Vinicius, de Bruyne showed again why he remains so indispensable for City as they seek to finally win the Champions League and perhaps a treble.

His shot from outside the area was a thing of beauty, the ball rising no more than a metre off the turf as it streaked like a missile through the Madrid air and past Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgian playmaker’s 14th Champions League goal for City means he is the first player in the tournament’s history to score in separate away games against Real in the knockout rounds.

It also swung the tie in favour of Guardiola’s side, who will be slight favourites in the second leg next Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium where they are unbeaten for five years in Europe’s elite club competition.

They will have to be wary, however, of a Real side who will also take a large amount of comfort from the first leg as they seek to win the trophy for a record-extending 15th time.

Despite ceding the lion’s share of possession to City, especially in the first half in which the visitors had nearly 70 per cent, they oozed serenity, never panicked and looked razor sharp on the counter-attack.

It was through the counter that they took the lead, with Eduardo Camavinga surging past Bernardo Silva, tearing into space and feeding Vinicius.

No wonder wily old manager Carlo Ancelotti did not look too perturbed at not winning the opening leg.

“I think we deserved to win,” said the Real boss.

“It was a good match and we head to the second leg with a good feeling. The result doesn’t reward us for what we did on the pitch, but this tie will be close until the last minute.

“They had more possession in the first 30 minutes, but that didn’t worry us, because we were well positioned at the back and waited to make an effective transition.

“In the second half, we managed to come out from the back better... and we should have won.”
REUTERS, AFP