‘I’m not overthinking’: Guardiola gears up for City’s duel with Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola has promised he will not overthink Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday. The manager said his legacy is already exceptional and will not be defined by whether he wins the competition with the club.

The tie is poised at 1-1 after the opening leg at Santiago Bernabéu last week. Guardiola has been viewed as causing City’s defeat in previous editions of the Champions League by overcomplicating selection and tactics. The most prominent example was the 1-0 defeat against Chelsea in the 2021 final when he dropped Rodri and João Cancelo, did not play a regular holding player and reinstated the out-of-favour Raheem Sterling.

Guardiola believes City have to perform better than they did against Real in Spain but was reluctant to reveal how he will accomplish this. “Hopefully you can see tomorrow,” he said. “Nothing special. I’m not overthinking, don’t worry guys, nothing different to what we’ve done, just more fluid and play a bit better.

“The emotion is there and has to be high, but just this won’t beat a team like Madrid. We have to adjust something, do it a little better to create chances for our strikers and people up front to get more balls, transitions, the quality they have in all departments.”

In six previous attempts, Guardiola has failed to lead City to the trophy, though his tenure is supremely successful. The champions require a maximum of one Premier League win for a hat-trick of titles and the fifth under Guardiola, who has also claimed the FA Cup and four League Cups. As City are in next month’s FA Cup final they remain on course for the treble. Guardiola referred to his record when asked whether the Champions League was needed to firm up his legacy.