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Pep Guardiola said beating Real Madrid twice is a vital step in preparing For Manchester City to win the Champions League.
But while beating the 13-time home winners and visitors has strengthened the Blues’ mindset and self-confidence, the Blues boss says they want to put things temporarily into perspective.
City will face Lyon in the quarter-finals in Lisbon next Saturday, and if they are not in a position for the team that eliminated Juventus tonight, they will suffer and return to box one, Guardiola says.
Asked about the importance of following this victory at the Bernabéu in February with a 2-1 win at Etihad, Guardiola said: “Of course it’s important. We beat them twice. We never lost in two playoff games.
“You see personality when you play, you’re good. We’re here to win the Champions League. This is just one step. If we think that’s enough, prove we’re a small team.
The City had to dig deep at times, after Karim Benzema packed in Raheem Sterling’s first game.
But the Blues came out strong in the middle of the moment, never stopped running and won thanks to Gabriel Jesus.
“When you play real madrid, you realize how smart they are,” Guardiola added. “We scored two goals for his mistakes. It’s easy. We’re trying to convince them to attack. We’re in the quarterfies.”