Guardiola asks for defensive improvements with Walker and Cancelo ready to return.Manchester City leads Real Madrid 4-3 going into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, and the return of two players could help.Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City's defense needs to improve if they are to beat Real Madrid and reach the Champions League final for the second year in a row.
Following a thrilling match in Manchester last week, City leads 4-3 going into Wednesday's semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Premier League leaders City led by two goals three times, but Madrid, led by Karim Benzema, kept the tie alive.City's defense will be bolstered for the return match, as Joao Cancelo returns from suspension and Kyle Walker is likely to be healthy.
The England international has not played since hurting his ankle against Atletico Madrid last month, but he returned to training on Tuesday and is back in the City squad.
Guardiola, who verified John Stones' injury, recognizes that City's defense must improve if they are to finish the job."We probably need to improve, but we can play much worse than we did and still win," he said at a press conference.
"You get what you deserve sometimes, and you don't get what you deserve other times." We must play exceptionally well and win the game.
"The game from last week is no longer relevant. The duration of the tie is 180 minutes. We strive to improve on what we have done previously. We're going there for that, and everyone is ready to give it their best shot."When asked if he expected Walker to be ready to play, Guardiola responded: "He worked out, he'll fly, and we'll make a decision tomorrow. I'm relieved that he's returned."
In their previous four knockout matches, City had kept clean sheets against Sporting CP and Atletico Madrid, respectively, in the last 16 and quarter-finals.
City has kept 26 shutouts in 53 games this season, which is the third most of any team from Europe's top five leagues, behind Chelsea (27) and Liverpool (22). (31)."It was a fantastic open game," Guardiola remarked of last week's encounter, which had the joint-highest scoring first leg in Champions League semi-final history.
"The fact that the two teams combined for seven goals." We were pleased; we could have had a better outcome, but we could also have gotten a lot worse.
"You take a look at it, come back the next day, and analyze it in the cold light of day." We always knew it would be two games, for better or worse.
"The Etihad and the Bernabeu are two of the best clubs in the world. To knock Madrid out, you must perform admirably in both games."Guardiola has four Champions League victories over Madrid, second only under Ottmar Hitzfeld (seven), with two of those victories coming at the Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti, who became the first manager to win each of Europe's top five divisions last week, is in the opposing dugout.
Guardiola lauded Ancelotti's accomplishments, but insisted that Madrid's players would not lose focus."Congratulations to him on winning the Spanish league," Guardiola added, referring to Barcelona's three LaLiga victories. "I did it last week, and he did it the week before.
"He is someone I admire. He's traveled the globe, playing for major football nations and excellent teams. It's always really difficult, and the football is excellent.
"Part of it is due to the fact that he is a unique individual. When I'm with him, he's always calm and in complete control of his emotions."City will become the fourth English team to reach consecutive European Cup or Champions League finals if they succeed.
However, Guardiola admitted that continuous competition in the latter stages of the competition does not guarantee that lessons have been learned.
"Experience... the question is what you can learn from it," he explained. "It's possible that you'll make the same mistakes." It's so different from previous season that it's tough to compare."How are the guys going to wake up tomorrow?" Because we've been there several times in recent years, we've done well and know how to handle the problem.
"However, playing well isn't a given. They understand that in order to reach the final, we must perform well and give it our all."
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