1 day ago
60
Manchester City secured their biggest win of the season by beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the Bernabeu and Josko Gvardiol hinted at the confidence it has injected into the squad.
Manchester City have played better in the Bernabeu without winning in recent seasons, but Josko Gvardiol believes their victory against Real Madrid on Wednesday night is evidence that Pep Guardiola's side can beat anyone this season.
It's been an inconsistent start for the Blues, who have lost five games this season but are still producing performances that suggest a challenge for the Premier League title and a run at the Champions League could be possible
After their win in the Spanish capital, they are up to fourth in the league phase in Europe and are just two points off Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and even if it wasn't a vintage performance, it could be a result that adds belief to what is a new-look squad under Guardiola.
City came from behind to beat a beleaguered Real Madrid, with head coach Xabi Alonso already feeling the pressure, but any win in the Bernabeu is to be valued and Gvardiol didn't argue with the premise that it showed they could now beat any side on the continent.
"I agree with you. We know how difficult it is to play here, and we've seen so many games, so many teams struggle to play here," he said.
"But it's not the first time that we play here. Of course, we analyse them at the moment, maybe they are not in really good form. So we took an opportunity [and it] was an important three points for us to fight in the top eight in the Champions League."
Gvardiol said City's players were tired "mentally and physically" after the win, with Guardiola picking an unchanged team and using the same starting XI for the fifth time in nine games.
Recovery is now key ahead of a difficult Premier League fixture at Crystal Palace on Sunday and Gvardiol is hoping this result sparks the kind of winning run City have often delivered at this stage of the season.
They now have four successive games for the second time this season and although they are yet to make it five in a row, this success could be a platform to reel off the victories.
"I think so," he said. "I think we're doing good. We go game by game, not to look too far ahead. And we have a good team.
"We have amazing players on the bench, who are more than ready to come in, as we could see today. So I think we have a good team and we want a fight."
It was another breakthrough night for Nico O'Reilly, who has taken over Gvardiol's left-back spot, allowing the Croatian to move inside to the centre of defence.
O'Reilly's form is keeping £31million left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri out of the team and he scored the goal that got City back in the game in Madrid and produced a stellar display, with Gvardiol praising the maturity of the 20-year-old academy graduate.
"I'm super proud of him, I'm really happy for him as well," he said. "He's young, but to be honest with you, two days ago I was thinking that when I see him playing next to me, I feel like he's 30.
"I think he has a quality. There’s a reason he’s in the starting XI. He just needs to keep going. He has full support from me, from everyone in the team, from the manager, staff as well, from the club. He can do such big things in his career."
O'Reilly's goal cancelled out Rodrygo's strike for Real and settled City after a shaky start, with Erling Haaland's penalty completing the turnaround before half-time.
"There's the mentality we have. It's simple," Gvardiol said of the comeback. "If you are losing, it's not game over, you know? You want to come back, you want to fight.
"One goal from a corner kick and a penalty from Erling. I think we could have scored one more at least, but that's football. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes not. At the end, 2-1 I think was more than enough."
English (US) ·