Manager defends Nico O’Reilly after left-back’s mistake for the opener
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted his side have little chance of surviving this round of the Champions League after a heavy 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
City were left reeling by a devastating first-half display from Federico Valverde, who scored a remarkable hat trick in just 22 minutes to give Madrid a commanding advantage in the last-16 tie.
The Premier League’s second-best wide now prepare for a rematch at the Etihad Stadium next week where they will need a major turnaround if they are to reach the quarter-finals.
It could have been even worse for City but they were briefly handed a lifeline in the second half when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a penalty from Vinicius Junior, preventing Madrid from extending their lead further.
Even so, Guardiola conceded after the match that the odds are firmly stacked against his team heading into the return leg.
“Now, not much,” City’s coach said of his side’s chances of overturning the deficit. “Of course we’re going to try. We will read what to do better and be more active in the final third and we will try.”
Guardiola had surprised many observers before kickoff with his team selection. Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa had hinted that City might introduce unexpected changes, and Guardiola responded by handing starting roles to Jérémy Doku, Savinho and Abdukodir Khusanov.
City left-back O’Reilly is a midfielder who has been deployed as a left-back for much of this season and the last, but at the Bernabeu he was caught out for Madrid’s opening goal, misjudging a long ball forward from Thibaut Courtois that allowed Valverde to round Donnarumma and score.
“How many times has Nico O’Reilly played left back this season?” Guardiola said in defence of his team selection. “How many times?”
“The only adjustment was Khusanov in that area because Vinicius arrives in those areas and you have to control that. I did rotation in Newcastle with 11 different players and it was fine, so understand what I’m saying.”
