Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach, surprised with the substitution of Kevin de Bruyne and without Kyle Walker, he is out along with Nathan Aké in the defense of the citizen team. "De Bruyne was vomiting and was not well. He is a very important player, I hope we can have him for the return leg next Wednesday," confessed the coach.
The Santpedor board also opted for Manuel Akanji ahead of the young Rico Lewis to take over the marking of the Brazilian Vinícius Junior. "It was good, I hope people had a good time with two teams that wanted to attack. You are worried about stopping Madrid's transitions but it is impossible to stop them," he insisted.
"In the second half we were good but we already know that on this field for Real Madrid the games never end. Vinícius and Rodrygo not only have legs, they have the ability to dribble. And Valverde scored a great goal," analyzed Guardiola. "They impress me more and more. They continue to be stable and competitive but so do we. I prefer to play the second leg at home. I don't feel like a favorite. Whoever wins and imposes their way goes to the semifinals, we don't have to do much analysis. Our people suit us to help a lot," he added.
Asked for his opinion on the new Santiago Bernabéu, Guardiola pointed out that "the stadium is fantastic, although I like to see the sky," he said, referring to the roof that covers the white fiefdom. "But now Florentino must take care of the grass, which was not very good," he added. After the game, several workers were analyzing the state of the grass, which, as it remained inside the field, was not in good condition.
