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pep guardiola he believes manchester City Despite registering a memorable win in the Champions League, the team will have to improve to win the title. real Madrid,
City stunned the Spanish giants at the Bernabeu on Wednesday – and increased pressure on the under-fire Real boss xabi alonso – As soon as they came from behind to win the thrilling match 2-1.
The result moved City up to fourth in the league stage, getting their campaign back on track after last month’s defeat bayer leverkusenBut Guardiola feels further improvement is needed.
Guardiola said: “Coming here was a good experience for us. We felt the pressure to do it and there will be good lessons for the future.
“But that level is not enough. The players made a big effort but we still have a lot to improve.”
“We have been here many times in the last five years, we have played many battles against them, but we have played much better and have not won. That is the reality.
“We’re not ready (yet). We’re still a long way away. We’ll be better in February.”
“Don’t get me wrong, winning at the Bernabeu is a big, big task.
“But at the same time, no matter what the results look like, it is not enough to reach the semi-finals.”
Real had the better chances early on and took the lead through Rodrigo, but City hit back from close range before half-time through Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland’s penalty.
Guardiola said: “They were much better until we scored the first goal. Every time we lost the ball they punished us, especially with Rodrigo.
“He has that quality and in the final stages I know we have to be better.”
Opposite number Alonso had come under heavy scrutiny after a string of poor results.
Local reports before the game also suggested he could be sacked if Real conceded to City.
While speculation over Alonso’s future will now run rampant, the former Liverpool midfielder at least felt his team had lost while fighting for him.
Alonso said: “It’s been a very difficult game. We started really well with Rodrigo’s goal and we had other chances which we wanted to do.
“In those 10 minutes they came back but the team kept trying. Despite the difficulties we are living with, the injuries, we did not lose confidence in the second half.
“The players took their last breath. I have nothing to reproach them for. I am grateful to the players for their attitude and for keeping it going.”
“We’ll keep believing. I’m sure we can make it better.”