2025-12-11 12:20:39
Pep Guardiola feels that Manchester City must improve if they are to win the Champions League this season.
City earned an impressive 2-1 win at Real Madrid in Wednesday’s (10.12.25) league phase clash but the manager thinks his side is still “far away” from competing at the sharp end of Europe’s elite competition.
Guardiola said: “It was a good experience for us being here. We felt the pressure of having to do it and there will be good lessons for the future.
“But that level is not quite enough. The players made a big effort but we still have much to improve.
“We’ve been here many times in the last five years, we’ve played many battles against them, but we’ve played much better and not won. This is the reality.”
The City coach continued: “We are not ready (yet). We are far away. In February we will be better.
“Don’t misunderstand me, winning at the Bernabeu is a big, big task.
“But at the same time, whatever the results look like, for the level to arrive to the semi-finals, it’s not enough.”
City striker Erling Haaland described the team’s win as “really important” as it leaves them well-placed to finish in the top eight and seal automatic progression to the last 16.
He told TNT Sports: “It’s difficult to come here and the game has loads of transitions. We could have had another goal. I was close on one in the second half, Jeremy [Doku] was close a few times but the game was a bit chaotic. We can’t really control it, which is difficult and it’s difficult to come here, so in the end, we’re super happy.
“It could have looked completely different today if we didn’t win because we lost against Leverkusen, so this win is really important.
“Now we’ve got two more games left so we need to finish strong now and hopefully we can be in the first eight because then we’re through.”
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