Manchester City secured their place in the Champions League semi-finals last night, beating Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate on Wednesday night. It means fans will be treated to a repeat of the same fixture last year against Real Madrid, which saw 11 goals over 210 minutes of football.
For Guardiola, it will be framed as an attempt to get a monkey off his back, having fallen against Real Madrid several times, while the pressure will be off Los Blancos.
He was pleased with the effort of his players againt Bayern though.
“They had one or two very good chances. Anything could happen, but we knew how to defend well,” said Pep Guardiola, knowing it will be incumbent on them to do so again in two weeks time.
The Manchester City manager has been criticised heavily over the last decade for his struggles in the Champions League, but they have a shot at redemption against the biggest bully of all.
“All the teams have the feeling that if you want to win the Champions League you have to beat Real Madrid. Before it was Barca and now it’s Madrid,” Guardiola told Sport, admitting the changing of the guard.
Midfield star Bernardo Silva also commented on the tie, admitting that it was the shot at revenge that Manchester City wanted.
Whomever wins the tie will be heavy favourites for the competition, as they will be facing an Italian team (Milan or Inter) in the final for the first time in 12 years. It is shaping up to be a tasty affair.