Guardiola Cancels Training as Manchester City Face Mountain to Climb Against Real Madrid

Manchester City’s players have been given an unexpected day off on Monday after manager Pep Guardiola scrapped the scheduled session ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League Round of 16 return leg against Real Madrid. The decision comes with City needing to overturn a 3-0 deficit from the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Federico Valverde’s first-half hat-trick left the Premier League champions on the brink of elimination.

Guardiola explained that the punishing travel schedule—returning from Madrid in the early hours, preparing for Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, and not arriving back in Manchester until 2:30 a.m. on Sunday—left little choice but to prioritise recovery. “Today, you cannot do anything,” the 55-year-old told reporters at his pre-match press conference. “We’ll train tomorrow before the game,” he added, noting that City have previously held pre-match sessions against Borussia Dortmund and Fulham this season.

City’s form has dipped at the worst possible moment: one win in their last four outings across all competitions has seen Arsenal open a nine-point lead in the Premier League and intensified scrutiny on the club’s bid for an unprecedented quadruple. Tuesday night’s assignment is straightforward in theory—score at least three unanswered goals against the European champions—but Guardiola insists the focus must be defensive stability as much as attacking flair.

“I’m not much concerned about the chances we’re going to create,” he said. “It’s more how well we’re going to defend. The task is massive; to score more than three goals against Madrid is not easy.”

The Catalan refused to outline a dramatic early onslaught, warning that reckless ambition could play into Madrid’s lethal counter-attacking hands. “It’s easy for me to say, ‘Guys, in the first 20 minutes we have to score three goals!’ Yeah, perfect, good message. But the reality is completely different. Just be sustainable in our approach.”

City will attempt to channel the spirit of past Etihad fight-backs, yet Guardiola conceded there is “no specific plan, apart from just trying.” With a Carabao Cup final against Arsenal looming on Sunday, the next seven days could define the club’s season.

Manchester City vs Real Madrid kicks off at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, with the tie poised at 3-0 to the visitors.