Pep Guardiola had no complaints over Manchester City’s profligacy in front of goal in their 4-3 win over Real Madrid but believes they will not reach the Champions League final if they repeat their second-half performance.
City raced into a 2-0 lead within the opening half hour and created enough chances to take a healthy advantage into next Wednesday’s second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu but allowed Madrid back into the tie.
Two Karim Benzema strikes - one a Panenka penalty - and a fine individual goal by Vinicius Jr mean that Guardiola and his players will have to defend a slender one-goal advantage in Madrid next week.
“Regardless of the result, if it was 2-0 or 3-0 we would still have to go to Bernabeu and play well,” the City manager said. “If we play like we did in the second half, we won’t be able to win. If we play like we did at other periods, we will.
“We want to be there to put on a good show, that is what I want to tell my players to do. Don’t think of anything else.”
“When I became a footballer and a manager, when you go to the Bernabeu or there is no option to win. You have to come through these situations to win the Champions League.”
Guardiola was unconcerned by City’s wastefulness in front of goal, which saw Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez both spurn excellent opportunities either side of half time.
“We miss [chances] but we create them,” Guardiola said. “We were there all the time. We were there. No complaints about the result, the performance, anything.
“I am so proud of the way we perform in front of the world. We did everything to win and with courage, with the ball, without the ball.
“What I want is to perform like Liverpool here or Brighton or Watford. Football is football, the result is the result but how we perform is exceptional. Nobody can say the performance was not good.
“We know we have to maybe rise the level to reach the final but this competition demands that. At the end maybe the chances we create we have to convert. I want to convince my players that we won the game and heads up.”
Guardiola said he had also apologised to referee Istvan Kovacs having been shown a yellow card for contesting a decision to award Madrid a throw-in. The incident occurred shortly before Vinicius’s goal but the City manager did not believe it led to his side conceding.
“Many things happened. If it's a throw in, cross into the box and score a goal, I can complain but… I apologise to the referee, it was just emotion. For me I was there, it was for our side but they decided the opposite. That's all.”
