Guardiola on City's Chances: "I Lied, We Have More Than 1%"

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City arrive in Madrid ready for anything. Far from the defeatism he showed after the 2-3 at the Etihad, in the Santiago Bernabéu press room, 24 hours before the decisive clash against Real Madrid, he confessed that he no longer holds that 1% chance he claimed to give his team a week earlier. "This time I lied to you, we have more than a 1% chance. You never believe me when I say what I think, but this time you were right," he joked in this regard.

"I am realistic and know my team very well. I know what we have and that we haven't been as consistent as in previous years. I haven't found the key to being the machine we have been for eight years. Let's see if tomorrow we can adjust things we failed at in the first leg and at least scare them. Then we'll see what happens, the result isn't good and you have to play an almost perfect game," he analysed about the match that determines his future in the Champions League.

The Bernabéu, a venue of great joys but also some disappointments for Guardiola and his teams, dictates the verdict, but the Catalan coach distances himself from the environment and places the key to the tie in his players. "Regardless of the stadium, the players have to give their all. It's like Anfield, Barcelona, etc... The Bernabéu is what it is, there will be moments when you have to suffer but we'll try to make them the fewest," he remarked. "I have extraordinary memories in this stadium. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. It has never been easy, even as a player, with Barcelona or Bayern," he added regarding his past at the Castellana coliseum.

Guardiola glossed over the background noise of the refereeing controversy in La Liga following Real Madrid's complaints about recent officiating in the domestic championship, but advised calm in this regard. "Sometimes they make mistakes and sometimes they don't, I don't think they feel that pressure. Many times I don't even know who the referee is going to be. Let's leave them alone," he concluded.