Manchester City

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Pundits have speaking to BBC Sport to preview Manchester City's huge Champions League play-off second leg against Real Madrid, in which Pep Guardiola's team need to overturn a 3-2 deficit.

Former Manchester City striker Paul Dickov on BBC Radio 5 Live:

As difficult as this season has been, the team is full of players who have been to the Bernabeu before and won the Champions League before. There were little signs on Saturday against Newcastle that we're getting back to where they want to be, albeit Newcastle were pretty poor on the day. You can go there with no fear.

City know what they've got to do and that's the main thing. They have to go there and win. Sometimes that's not a bad thing.

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton on 5 Live:

Manchester City can go into this game feeling a lot more confident and have that belief but they have all of it do because to keep out this Real Madrid team with Mbappe, Vinicus Junior, Rodrygo and Bellingham... I can't see Manchester City keeping a clean sheet.

I think defensively this season they have had massive issues. I think the goalkeepers haven't played well, plus they've chopped and changed at the back. I think Manchester City have it all to do, but you just never know.

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty:

Pep Guardiola strode into the Bernabeu Stadium's palatial surroundings knowing Manchester City must overturn the odds - and logic - in a special place that usually reserves its miracles for Real Madrid.

He has known every emotion in this legendary arena on a Champions League journey that has brought him here with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

And on Wednesday, Guardiola will once more appear alongside his friend and great adversary, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, beneath those towering stands knowing victory will rank among his finest achievements.

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Pep Guardiola says his side will need to play with "courage" at the Bernabeu, as they look to overturn a 3-2 deficit from the first leg of their Champions League play-off against Real Madrid.

Former Premier League winger Andros Townsend was surprised by the manager's comments, adding that courage is "the one thing Manchester City have had in the good and bad times".

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily, Townsend added: "They try to play their own way, even when maybe they shouldn't, so one thing they will have is courage.

"They will probably need a bit of luck because they are going to the Bernabeu. We know that Real Madrid are devastating on the counter-attack with their front four, which includes Jude Bellingham.

"I think they will need a perfect performance to get through."

Statman Dave highlighted two players that he believes could make the difference for Manchester City, adding: "Omar Marmoush scored his first hat-trick of the season last time out, and I think he is going to provide a real threat in that inside-left channel.

"Another player that could really win the game for Manchester City is Nico Gonzalez. We all saw how he was commanding, reading the play and winning the ball back superbly well. He was like a 'mini Rodri' on the ball, as Pep Guardiola said.

"If Manchester City are to win this one, expect Nico Gonzalez to be man of the match."

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Manchester City's 3-2 defeat in the first leg was the fifth time they have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout stage tie. They have gone on to be eliminated on each of the previous four occasions.

Erling Haaland has scored 49 goals in 48 Champions League games, scoring a brace in the first leg to record his first ever goals against Real Madrid. A goal in this match would see him become the fastest to reach 50 goals in terms of both appearances and age.

Manchester City's 22-year-old midfielder Maximo Perrone wants to turn his loan in Italy with Como - managed by former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas - into a permanent move. (Calcioline - in Italian), external

Want more news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Bernardo Silva has said Manchester City will learn a "lesson for the future" if they fail to overturn their one-goal deficit against Real Madrid and go out of the Champions League on Wednesday.

City struggled for positive results during the League Phase and eventually finished 22nd out of 36 teams, only just confirming a place in the play-off round, in which they were drawn to face the holders.

City have reached at least the quarter-final stage of the Champions League in every season since going out in the last 16 to Monaco in 2016-17.

Asked how it would feel not to progress, the Portugal international said: "It would be disappointing, for sure.

"When the season started, I wouldn't believe you if you told me that we were in this place in the Premier League and playing Real Madrid in the play-offs, not in the latter stages.

"We put ourselves in this situation, so in a way, we deserve to be in this complicated situation of having to play such a tough team in the play-offs because we finished 22nd.

"Definitely if things don't go our way, it will be a lesson for the future. We still believe things can go our way and we still have a chance [to win on Wednesday]. It's a lesson for the future, definitely."

Silva failed to score during the penalty shootout loss to Real in last season's quarter-final, but said he would volunteer again should this tie need spot-kicks to find a winner.

"Definitely I would put my hand up," he said. "You only can miss a penalty if you go and take it.

"I took it down the middle, the keeper was waiting for it, it's frustrating but it is what it is. I have no regrets in terms of that.

"If it has to go to penalties, we'll do our best to take them as best as possible and to qualify for the next stage."

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Champions League game against Real Madrid (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

City lost the first leg of their play-off tie 3-2 at Etihad Stadium on 11 February.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias have all travelled with the squad to Spain, and Guardiola said it was "good news".

• Guardiola was asked about Grealish's importance and he said the England midfielder has struggled for consistency, but added: "Hopefully these three months we have until the end of the season, he can get it."

• On what will be required to turn the tie around, Guardiola said: "We have to make an almost perfect game obviously. The [first leg] result was not good, we have to attack and score goals."

• Guardiola added: "We all have to perform. It's the same if you have to go to Anfield, Arsenal, Barcelona or any of the big teams that qualified in the top eight - you go away, you have to play a really good game, especially after the result we took in the first game."

• After Real's Jude Bellingham was sent off following an exchange with a referee last weekend, Guardiola was asked whether he warns his players not to swear at referees: "I wouldn't say never, but I rarely talk about referees with my players. Most of the time I don't know who the referee will be. This morning I didn't talk about that with the team and I assure you it won't happen tonight nor tomorrow."

• On Real's Bernabeu: "I have incredible memories of this stadium - sometimes good ones, sometimes not good ones. It was never easy when I was a player with Barcelona, and afterwards as a manager. It's always been tough."

• On what he has learned from previous experiences in order to be successful at the Bernabeu: "You have to play with courage. You have to be yourself. You have to play with incredible courage and you have to play to win the game. The times we did well here, it was because we played to win the game. We have no alternative because of the result we had in the first leg."

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Carlo Ancelotti believes Real Madrid only have a "small advantage" over Manchester City before the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).

Holders Real scored two late goals to win 3-2 at Etihad Stadium on 11 February and will go through to the last 16 if they avoid defeat on their home ground.

City boss Pep Guardiola said after Saturday's Premier League win over Newcastle: "The margin to win at the Bernabeu from that position, everybody knows, the percentage to go through, we arrive at 1%. Or I don't know what, but it will be minimal.

"But as much as you have a chance we will try, that's for sure. We are going like we always have done but, this season, the reality is we have been miles away. We have been really, really poor in performances and results this season.

"For one game, Saturday, we played really good but it's not going to change the opinion, the reality. But, of course, it's better to travel to Madrid with this result."

On Guardiola's comments, Ancelotti told a news conference on Tuesday: "He doesn't really think so [that City have a 1% chance to go through].

"We don't think we have a 99% chance. We have a small advantage and we have to take advantage of it.

"We have to play the same game as in the first leg, because it went well, but we have to take into account the difficulties. We are trying to prepare well."

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Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock says Wednesday's Champions League play-off second leg at Real Madrid will test "how good Nico Gonzalez is in a pressure game".

Manchester City's new signing was praised for his performance in Saturday's 4-0 win over Newcastle, but will face a more daunting task when Pep Guardiola's side arrive at the Bernabeu on Wednesday needing to overturn a 3-2 first-leg deficit.

"It will be interesting to see how Manchester City go about it," Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"Does he play [Omar] Marmoush up alongside [Erling] Haaland straight away and say 'we want to get a goal back straight away'?

"Does he compact the midfield and say 'we stay in the game for as long as we can' and bring him on with half an hour to go and maybe unleash that pace later on in the game?

"We're going to see how good Nico Gonzalez is in a pressure game. Away at the Bernabeu - that is where you will be tested to your absolute maximum. To see whether you can sense danger, whether you can protect your team, whether you can keep the ball in tight areas and pressure situations.

"That's exactly what City have struggled to do. Can he cover the ground with recovery runs to make sure he is tracking back?

"They go into this game with a little bit more organisation in midfield but still huge questions at the back."

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Manchester City's interest in 21-year-old Bayer Leverkusen and Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz, who would cost more than £85m, is increasing as the club plans for a future without Kevin de Bruyne. (Mail), external

City could face competition from rivals Manchester United for 23-year-old Atalanta and Belgium midfielder Charles de Ketelaere. (Teamtalk), external

The club are braced for offers for Bernardo Silva this summer, with clubs in Spain, Portugal and Saudi Arabia interested in the midfielder. (Football Insider), external

Meanwhile, forward Claudio Echeverri will join City's squad this week, after spending the past year on loan at River Plate. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Chris Bevan
BBC Sport journalist

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Pep Guardiola describes him as a 'mini-Rodri' but could Nico Gonzalez end up having a huge impact on what is left of Manchester City's season?

The £50m midfielder's impressive display on his Premier League debut against top-four rivals Newcastle brought the comparison from his beaming manager, and impressed former City defender Micah Richards who analysed Gonzalez on Match of the Day 2.

One of the re-occurring themes of City's calamitous campaign is how often they have been cut open on the counter-attack since Rodri was injured in September.

It was different against Newcastle. City often stopped breakaways early in the opposition half, with Gonzalez seeing the threat early and expertly pouncing to snuff it out.

The Spaniard topped the rankings from both teams for the most touches [114] and passes [103], with a 97% success rate. His careful use of the ball helped give City the control of possession, which Pep Guardiola craves, but he was brave with his distribution too.

"There were times when Gonzalez took out three or four Newcastle players with one pass forward," Richards explained. "He was just in the right position, recycling the ball and keeping things moving.

"That's exactly what City have needed this season, because there have been too many games where they haven't starved the opposition of the ball the way they would have in the past.

"I love how Gonzalez has got the personality to come to the Premier League and play like this, straight away, against a team renowned for their physicality and intensity in midfield.

"He also had the intelligence to know when to take a chance and when to just hold on to the ball. Having someone with that kind of football IQ in your team is priceless."

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Freddie Pye
Fan writer

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When Manchester City signed Riyad Mahrez from Leicester in the summer of 2018, the excitement among Algerian football fans was like something Etihad Stadium club had never seen before.

Despite a team full of superstars from Argentina, Belgium, England and Spain, it was the newest face that took the limelight almost instantly in African football. Of course, the finances helped that excitement; the most expensive African footballer at the time, City's most expensive recruit and the highest fee then achieved by Leicester in a player sale.

Fast forward to 2025 and there are striking similarities with Omar Marmoush's arrival. City have opened themselves up to the African football fan market once again, and this time it is an Egyptian audience left starstruck by the wonders of Mohamed Salah for years at Liverpool.

But nothing in football is permanent, and the impending exit of Salah from Anfield in the coming months or seasons will no doubt mean there is a space to be filled in Premier League football for Egyptian and African fans to adore one superstar name.

In Marmoush, they may have just that. A blistering 14-minute hat-trick on Saturday was exactly the sort of attacking impetus City have been missing all season, particularly after Julian Alvarez's exit. Technically gifted, speedy and brave attacking output to complement the dominance of Erling Haaland's goalscoring.

The feeling among fans that Pep Guardiola's system has become predictable is suddenly no more, with Marmoush and Savinho causing havoc among Newcastle's defence at the weekend, leaving a backline that has impressed so often looking lost for solutions.

And stripping Marmoush's impact right down to basics, this may simply be about the addition of fresh legs into an ageing set-up and perhaps also marks the start of Guardiola having to make tough decisions over the likes of Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne being nailed-on starters for the biggest occasions.

This is not just about the arrival of a new Egyptian superstar in the Premier League, but also a name that marks the start of an exciting new chapter in the ever-developing history of a footballing superpower.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra, external

Sarah Mulkerrins
Final Score reporter

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Omar Marmoush grasped the match ball tightly, with a huge smile on his face, and looked up to the stands of fans cheering at full-time.

After going goalless for the first four games at his new club, he came alive on Saturday. He was allowed to flourish with a much sharper-looking City attack.

Savihno and Phil Foden were central to so much, Erling Haaland unselfish and celebratory with Marmoush.

After looking fragile in midweek, City were pragmatic when needed.

Ederson and Josko Gvardiol hit several long balls, all eliminating midfield and relieving pressure points at times.

Another January signing, Nico Gonzalez, made his first start and was right among it from the start, paired with the experience of Ilkay Gundogan in midfield.

John Stones in central defence brought support and confidence to Abdukodir Khusanov alongside him.

City's biggest home league win of the season came at a time when they really needed it.

They now have something to point to when looking for a showing in Madrid.

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Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown says Omar Marmoush may find his immediate future is in the number 10 position behind Erling Haaland.

Marmoush scored his first City goals in the form of a 14-minute hat-trick in Saturday's confidence-building 4-0 win over Newcastle.

"Marmoush goes down the left slightly, then comes inside," Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. He can start the press off centrally with Haaland in a two. He can get there because he has the legs to do that and cover wide positions. His recovery runs are good as well.

"He's not going to be the number nine, so I think just one behind Erling Haaland is a good opportunity. He can link, he can get around, but he makes really good runs. There is a lot of attention on Haaland from defenders so it is a good foil for him.

"He broke the lines a little bit more and got in behind against Newcastle. It was an energetic all-round performance."

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Newcastle.

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans:

John: Great performance from the boys, and what a signing Omar Marmoush is. At last, someone to help out Erling Haaland up front. Pep Guardiola's signings are usually slow starters but this lad has hit the ground running. I'm not sure it will be as easy against Real Madrid though.

Brian: Wonderful and enjoyable. For the first time in three months we played as a team. Great January transfer business is delivering dividends. Marmoush is a class act if he can find space and ball. Savinho is on fire and Nico Gonzalez is proving to be the midfield general we needed. The confidence is high and this win will add thirst for more. A new set of players are bonding and if we adopt the same approach against Real Madrid, we are most certainly good for a few goals. This was a good day at the office.

Dave: What we witnessed was a sneak preview of what is to come. A few more additions in the summer and I think City will be purring again. To all the Pep doubters... keep watching.

Pat: We made Newcastle look like a mediocre team. So many outstanding performances but I felt John Stones and Gonzalez truly stood out and completely controlled Alexander Isak. Up front, Marmoush and Savinho were superb and had the Newcastle defence chasing shadows.

Newcastle fans:

Duncan: Alan Shearer called out the Newcastle players a few weeks ago about them only trying in the big games. Well they obviously listened because they don't turn up for them now. Newcastle looked like it was them who were riddled with injuries and played against Real Madrid last Wednesday. That performance was as bad as the half-time entertainment shown during the Super Bowl! If the 'one eye on the final' excuse is used then they need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and question their professionalism. The away supporters should be compensated fully for that performance. Disgraceful.

Richard: Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham, West Ham and now City. Games where we just don't turn up. We don't even offer a glimmer of resistance. And they just keep happening. It's worrying. Eddie Howe needs to identify the factors that are causing these performances and sort them out. Displays like this are ruining our season.

Andy: Woeful display. We never seem to make any impact in games unless we come out flying from the start. Looks like our European dreams died on Saturday.

Tom: Abysmal performance from Newcastle United. The players need to forget about Wembley and concentrate on the here and now. To get anything from here all the players had to be at their best. Unfortunately, none of them were. However, all is not lost. Beat Nottingham Forest next week and we'll be right back in it. One positive was the performance of Lewis Miley. Excellent again when he came on.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says his side's chance of progressing from their Champions League play-off against Real Madrid as low as 1%.

City travel to the Bernabeu on Wednesday needing to overturn a 3-2 first-leg defeat at the home of the holders.

It has been a frustrating season for Guardiola's team but an emphatic 4-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday will give them hope.

"Of course this victory helps us, but the margin to win at the Bernabeu from that position, everybody knows the percentage to go through is 1% - or I don't know what, but it will be minimal.

"We will try, that's for sure. We are going like we always have done but, this season, the reality is we have been miles away. We have been really, really poor in performances and results this season.

"For one game, Saturday, we played really good but it's not going to change the opinion, the reality. But, of course, it's better to travel to Madrid with this result."

City led the first leg 2-1 heading into the final minutes before the complexion of the tie changed completely with late goals from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham.

"The chance is minor because the result was not good," Guardiola added.

"Five minutes to go, with 2-1, it would have been different. But, as long as we have a chance, we are going to take it. We'll see what happens."

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Ederson believes Manchester City proved their quality in their win over Newcastle and says it has given them confidence going into their game at Real Madrid on Wednesday.

"It's really, really important to win the game against big opponents - it gives us lots of confidence for Wednesday," said the goalkeeper.

"This season is difficult. We've had moments - high, down, high, down - and we've had injuries and a lot of games.

"In the bad moments we have to stick together, keep working to get up again and the team proved we have quality and experience for this competition."

The Brazilian got his sixth assist in the Premier League, making him the goalkeeper with the most in the competition's history.

"I'm so happy to mark this history," he said. "Against teams who mark man to man the main threat is goalkeeper.

"I have fast players up front - [Omar] Marmoush, Savinho and Erling [Haaland]. It's so easy just put the ball in the space and see."

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Highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from Friday's game between Brighton and Chelsea.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Man City 4-0 Newcastle

• Crystal Palace 1-2 Everton