Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed Pep Guardiola’s claim that Manchester City have only a one per cent chance of overturning their Champions League deficit, suggesting the City boss was deliberately downplaying his team’s chances.
Madrid hold a 3-2 advantage heading into Wednesday’s second-leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu, with City struggling domestically in fourth place in the Premier League.
However, after a dominant 4-0 victory over Newcastle on Saturday, Guardiola insisted that his side’s odds of progressing past the 15-time European champions remained slim.
Ancelotti, however, wasn’t convinced.
“He does not truly think that tomorrow I’ll ask him before the game—do you think you’ve got a one per cent chance?” Ancelotti said in a press conference.
“He thinks they’ve got more chance than that… we don’t think we have 99 per cent chance.
“We think we have a small advantage that we have to take advantage of and try to play the same game we set up in the first leg, which went well.”
Ancelotti confirmed that Antonio Rudiger had recovered from injury and was available to start, while Lucas Vazquez would only be fit enough for the bench.
The Italian coach also voiced his ongoing frustration with refereeing decisions in La Liga, which he believes have unfairly impacted Madrid.
However, he said he had more confidence in the officiating standards in European competitions.
One of Madrid’s key players, Jude Bellingham, was sent off for dissent in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Osasuna.
Despite the England international’s fiery temperament occasionally getting him into trouble, his team-mate Federico Valverde insisted he wouldn’t want Bellingham to change.
“What I want is players who leave their soul out on the pitch, in this case with Jude in the last game, I always want him to be like that,” Valverde told reporters.
“Jude is a player who shows character, who always wants to win, who always wants to fight.
“This time he got a red card, but I like that he’s giving everything, his spikiness… we have to stay united as a team.”
With both sides gearing up for a high-stakes showdown at the Bernabeu, Ancelotti and his squad will hope to turn their narrow advantage into yet another deep Champions League run, while Guardiola’s City will look to defy the odds—no matter how slim their manager claims they are.
