Pep Guardiola: 'Manchester City's performance wasn't as bad as the 0-3 scoreline'

Manager Pep Guardiola analyzed Manchester City's defeat against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, stating that the team's performance was not as poor as the 0-3 result reflected.

In his post-match analysis, Pep Guardiola said: "It's a heavy scoreline, but we still have 90 minutes ahead. In the first half, they had three approaches to goal and scored three times thanks to their quality, especially in transition moments. We reached the byline many times but lacked the final pass. They defended very well, very disciplined and deep. This score is quite heavy; now it's time for dinner, rest, and we will regain our spirit day by day."

Pep Guardiola further shared about Manchester City's issue: "When you reach the byline and have four or five players in the box, the issue is just a good pass. When scoring, morale rises, but we lacked that decisive moment. I feel our match wasn't as bad as the score reflects."

At the post-match press conference, Pep Guardiola added: "Losing 0-3 is still better than 0-4. Sometimes it's very hard to control transition moments when we lose the ball and they connect immediately. When they have space to run, it's very dangerous. However, I think we played quite well. We brought the ball to the final area many times with Doku, but lacked a bit in finishing. For the first goal, we defended poorly, and with Valverde's quality, he finished perfectly."

Nevertheless, Manchester City's manager admitted the chances for the English team to secure a Champions League quarter-final spot are currently slim, Pep Guardiola said: "Not many. We will try, but we know the chances are quite difficult. Still, we will attempt it with our fans. We can do better."

Despite the heavy defeat at the Bernabéu, Pep Guardiola still believes Manchester City's performance was not so poor as to deserve a 0-3 result. Pep Guardiola affirmed: "Our performance wasn't so bad that we should lose 0-3. And Real Madrid? If you win 3-0, clearly you did well."

The return match between Manchester City and Real Madrid will take place early on March 18 (Vietnam time) in England, where Pep Guardiola's team must produce a comeback if they wish to continue their Champions League journey.