MADRID, Spain — Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City players will make a “huge mistake” if they are motivated by revenge against Real Madrid in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal at Bernabeu.
City face the reigning European champions in the Spanish capital at the same stage as last season’s elimination when two stoppage-time goals by Rodrygo cancelled out the English team’s 5-3 aggregate lead to take the game into extra-time.
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A Karim Benzema penalty five minutes into extra-time completed Madrid’s fightback and took them through to the final in Paris, where they defeated Liverpool to lift the European Cup for a record 14th time.
But while City midfielder Rodri said the tie would give he and his teammates the “option to have revenge,” manager Guardiola urged his players to focus solely on the game rather than what happened last season.
“It would be a huge mistake,” Guardiola said. “We are not here for revenge. What happened, happened. Always it happens in football because you deserve it.
“We did more than everything to reach the final but sometimes it’s not enough. The lesson we can learn is to get a good result, perform well and have the opportunity to reach the final in the second leg in Manchester.
“Last year was tough, but we had an exceptional first game in Manchester and a really good game here. But it was not enough, you congratulate the opponent, accept it and now, one year later, we are here again.
