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Guardiola: I know how difficult it is to play against Real Madrid

3 days ago  Raphael   Sport News

Following Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola said how proud his successor Carlo Ancelotti should be of his side's efforts despite only having ten men on the pitch.Guardiola who has coached in both Spain and Germany, felt that the German giants were unlucky not to progress, as Arturo Vidal was dismissed during an intense game in which Los Blancos won 4-2 after extra-time."For me, if it had been 11 vs. 11, I feel Bayern Munich would have done better," he explained to the media."I know exactly how hard it is facing Madrid at the [Estadio Santiago] Bernabeu, they should all think themselves unlucky."Now the coach of Manchester City, the Spaniard's side were eliminated in the last-16 stage of the competition but only by the away goal rule, after a 6-6 draw on aggregate against Monaco."The match against Monaco was important, we wanted to win and reach the next round," he said."Trophies are what give you confidence, and by not winning them, you start to doubt yourself."On Sunday, Man City will face Arsenal in the English FA Cup semi-final, and with the Premier League looking out of the reach, this could be the Spaniard's only hope of silverware this season."I want to win the FA Cup, and make my players belive they can," he explained."My players doubt themselves, and for me, changing their minds and making them successful is one of my greatest challenges."Gabriel Jesus was signed for 32 million, and the young Brazilian has made a huge impact since his arrival in January, but a metatarsal injury has ruled him out for over three months."He [Jesus] is recovering well and trained with us today," the City coach said."We are all very happy, because he is nearly back, he will travel with us to Wembley, so lets see if he plays or not."Playing at Wembley Stadium will be extra special for Guardiola, where as a player he won the Champions League, and as a coach defeated a Manchester United team dubbed the best in the world at the time."I will never forget my first game here [Wembley], because [Ronald] Koeman set me up wonderfully during this victory.""As for my second win, I will never forget how well we [Barcelona] played in this match, the first twenty-five minutes of the second half, the football was fantastic," he continued."It has always been a special stadium." he said.After falling out with Yaya Toure during his time coaching in Spain, the Ivory Coast star has won his way back into Pep's City side this season."He [Toure] played well against Southampton, last month I didn't use him as much and he knows why and will always know my opinion of him," he explained.The Man City youth side have recently reached the FA Youth Cup final against Chelsea, and Pep admitted the club shows great potential, and even the Women's team are performing well, reaching their own FA Cup final."There are two or three incredible talents in the youth side," he said."Congratulations to the girls, they beat Liverpool and will now be involved in a tough final, I hope they do well."