Pep Guardiola spoke again at a press conference. He did it in the sports city of Manchester City, where his team completed the last training session before traveling to Madrid to face Carlo Ancelotti’s team this Wednesday (9:00 p.m.). Against the custom of the Champions League, the citizen coach preferred not to train the day before at the Santiago Bernabéu. A stadium that City will only step on to play the second leg of the Champions League semifinals and in which the central defender, John Stones, will not be. Kyle Walker, the right back, is the only unknown in Guardiola’s eleven, who has a very outlined scheme.
injured: “He has trained today and tomorrow we will decide with Kyle Walker. We are going to try to get him to play tomorrow, but I don’t think it will be the key. Cancelo has returned from his injury… but no one has rested because we are competing for the Premier League. John Stones will not travel. He is injured.”
Modric and his statements about the possibilities of Madrid, if he is at his best level: “Everyone considers that. We feel the same way. These types of games are not normal. There will be moments for each team. That’s my feeling.”
City’s evolution: “We are two very good teams. They are the Spanish champions and we are trying the same in England. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I have to choose my eleven. There are days when you train very badly before the game and others when you play great. We often talk about experience. The important thing is to learn from those experiences. It’s no use repeating the same mistakes”.
Xavi Hernandez: “I haven’t talked to Xavi after he won 0-4. I saw him in the light. I’ll be honest, I didn’t see him live. I know that Ancelotti did one thing that he normally doesn’t do and I can’t highlight many things from that match. Xavi and I get along very well but we can’t make a comparison because we don’t have the same players.”
Ancelotti’s assessment: “I congratulate you for winning the Spanish league. I have too. I admire his career, those who are in the same club and those who travel as much as he does. He always does it right. His football is very attractive and he is also an exceptional person.”
Play better than in the first leg: “We will probably have to play better than last week. But ‘we can play worse and win. Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve. We know we have to perform very well and put our tactics in order to win.’
The role of Gabriel Jesus: “We scored quite a few goals, didn’t we? Gabriel Jesús is ready. He played well two years ago at the Bernabéu, but tomorrow it’s going to be a different game”.
What it means to play the second leg at the Bernabéu: “It’s a great test and great luck. It’s the best
Make corridor to Madrid: “It’s a UEFA issue. As spokesman for UEFA, he congratulated them but it’s not a question for me.”
Sensations that left him: “It was a very nice game. We scored seven goals and we were happy. We knew that it wasn’t going to be decided at the Etihad Stadium and that it would be at the Bernabéu. That’s why we had to play two good games”.
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Guardiola confirms the loss of Stones and the return of Walker