Pep Guardiola admits the manner of Manchester City’s win over Real Madrid has given his side ‘confidence’ that the club can make history this season.
City progressed to the Champions League final in stunning fashion in midweek after thrashing record 14-time winners Real Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad. The Citizens will face Inter Milan on June 10, but first conclude their Premier League campaign and face Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
Guardiola’s side can secure the first leg of a historic treble with a win against Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend and the Spaniard believes their statement performance against Real Madrid has increased confidence in the City camp.
“We have done it many times but we cannot deny what we did in the Champions League semi-final against the best team in the competition,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference.
“They [Real Madrid] have done 11 semi-finals in 13 years. To do it against them gives us confidence and credit.
“We have done it against Arsenal, Liverpool, United, the big teams at home. We feel we are strong and confident with our people.”
Guardiola discussed his side’s run of form with City having won 11 consecutive Premier League games to overhaul Arsenal in the title race. He praised the mentality of his squad as City close in on a fifth league title in six seasons.
“They’ve showed it many times and now we talk about mentality because we won.
“I don’t believe I defend the team when we lose. Last year we didn’t have the mentality vs Madrid but now we have the same mentality.
“To recover eight points, we knew we had to win games and they had to drop points. If Arsenal maintained the rhythm of the first leg, it wouldn’t have been possible.
“They dropped points and we were there. It means a lot to us.”
