Pep Guardiola Confirms Tactical Change Before Real Madrid Second Leg
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed he plans to do ‘something different’ in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
City weren’t at their best in the first leg but secured a 1-1 draw after Kevin De Bruyne’s controversial strike cancelled out a glorious opener from Vinicius Junior.
With a date with Serie A giants Inter in the final up for grabs, Guardiola teased a tactical shift for Wednesday’s game but assured City fans he is not ‘overthinking’ things.
“I have an idea to do something differently, just to be more fluid in attack,” he told his pre-match press conference.
He added: “It’s nothing special. I’m not overthinking tomorrow, don’t worry guys. Nothing different to what we have done in the past.”
On the other side of the tie, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti confessed his side cannot afford to focus on neutralising City striker Erling Haaland for fear of the firepower in the rest of the squad.
“We value a team, it’s everyone, not just one player,” he explained.
“We don’t think only of Haaland…but [Kevin] De Bruyne? And [Ilkay] Gundogan? And [Riyad] Mahrez? It’s difficult.”
Ancelotti continued: “Courage and personality will be very important, because the pressure will be very high. They have to have the personality it takes to show off their quality. This aspect, if you don’t have control, your quality diminishes.
“I want a team that reads the game well, that knows that there will be stretches of suffering, which is normal in a game like this. And then bite when the opponent is in difficulty.”
