Guardiola: Real Madrid? Look at how many times we meet Newcastle this season

On March 1st, Manchester City will challenge Leeds United away in the 28th round of the Premier League. After the media gag order expired, the confidential part of coach Guardiola's pre-match press conference was released.

Hi, Pep, in the last game, you were very pleased with Erling Haaland's performance, especially in terms of his overall contribution to the team and the way he participated in creating goals. Does this indicate that he is undergoing some kind of evolution as a player? Or is it more related to the overall evolution of your team, which has led to him participating in creating opportunities more often? Or - and I may be unfair to him by asking this - maybe he has always been a creative player?

Pep:"Whether he is evolving personally may be a question better answered by him. For all the players under my command, I will do everything I can to provide guidance and help. But in general, players who get a lot of playing time improve because of themselves. They can improve simply by constantly participating in games and accumulating practical experience. I don't need to deliberately tell them what to do, because they will learn and understand through personal experience in the course of the game.

For players who have fewer opportunities to play, unless they perform extremely well in the limited time, it is difficult for us as coaches to provide substantial help. Unfortunately, we cannot take care of every player at the same time. But I have been emphasizing that he is still a very young player, and since he came here, he has shown the potential for improvement. As for how high he can improve, it depends on himself.

On a tactical level, is what you require of the team now basically the same as the style of play you have always insisted on here?

Pep: "Regarding the team's tactics, this is also a question that needs to be asked of him. But as a team, we are very clear about how we want to play and what goals we want to achieve. Of course, players can choose to agree or disagree, but our goal is to get everyone to agree. I have been saying that I try to get our attacking firepower closer to the opponent's penalty area so that we can score in the most threatening position, and there are no more profound tactics than that. The whole team will do everything to help him score, and this ultimately depends on the overall competitive state of the team.

Hi, Pep, regarding being drawn against Real Madrid again, Benfica also played against Real Madrid in the league stage, and then met them again in the knockout stage. Do you think this frequent repetition of matches indicates some kind of defect in the new system?

Pep: "This does feel a bit strange. Usually, this kind of repeated match against the same opponent in a short period of time is rare. The current situation is that after Benfica and Real Madrid met in the last game of the league stage, they were immediately drawn together again in the first round of the knockout stage, which does seem unusual. I think people will have different opinions on this, but I must admit that this feeling is indeed very different. In international competitions or such international tournaments, the organizers do have their own set of rules and operating logic.

If the rules allow you to play against the same team twice, why not? This may also be a fair way to compete. Look at the Premier League, how many times have we played against Newcastle United this season? To be honest, I even hope we can meet them again in the Champions League final. This kind of match repetition happens frequently in the world of football.

The Champions League now is very different from before. When I first started coaching, there were probably only a few teams. Now the scale has expanded a lot, and they want to constantly increase the number of participating teams, which means that the schedule and calendar are very full. So the key now is how to adapt. Now that the draw result has been determined to be Real Madrid, what else can we do but face it?

Hi, Pep, the players got some valuable rest time in the middle of last week and this week, but we also know that you also used this time to provide guidance on the training ground. In the past two weeks, do you feel that you have completed all the tactical content you expected through training?

Pep:"No, we still need more training and repeated practice on some tactical details. But in the current training plan priorities, I choose to prioritize allowing the players to get sufficient rest.

Do you think there will be opportunities to practice those unfinished content in the time ahead? Or will the team basically maintain the status quo for the rest of the season?

Pep:"Listen, there are only three months left in the season. The team still has room for improvement in many aspects, and we must also improve in certain areas. But at this stage, it's more about refining the details. Because in most cases, we have already discussed the same tactical concepts countless times.

In my opinion, the key now lies in the player's brain and mental state, which will be the core that determines the success or failure of the season. We have worked together for many years and held countless meetings. These tactical concepts may be new to new players, but in the final three-month sprint of the season, mentality and willpower determine everything.

Hi, Pep, obviously, Erling and Dan Burn had another fierce physical confrontation last weekend. When facing this kind of tall central defender, how important is it to have Haaland as a target to look for as an attacking pivot? Especially when facing the opponent's man-marking defense, how critical is it when you need a long-range passing point and see Haaland is ready to enter that kind of close combat state?

Pep:" This is indeed very important, but my idea is that we must try to reduce this single style of play, even when facing this kind of tight man-marking defense. We must create other alternative attacking options, rather than simply passing long balls to Haaland and asking him to compete for headers. Otherwise, if a striker like Haaland has to undergo that kind of high-intensity close combat every three days, it is physically unsustainable, so we must find another way to play. I still dream that we can play more delicately and increase more passing coordination. Even when facing extremely challenging man-marking defense, we should show more tactical changes.