Pep Guardiola sees the Estadio Bernabeu as the ideal venue for Manchester City to demonstrate their capabilities in this year's Champions League. The team has frequently visited Madrid for UEFA's main competition, marking their 15th encounter since the 2012-13 season. Despite a strong start, Guardiola has not won in his last four visits to face Real Madrid (D2 L2).
City's recent encounters with Los Blancos have been challenging. They lost both home and away matches against them in last season's play-off round, resulting in a 6-3 aggregate defeat. This equals the number of losses they had in their previous 11 games against the LaLiga giants combined (W4 D5 L2). Guardiola remains optimistic about replicating past successes at this iconic stadium.
Guardiola highlighted that playing at different stages of the competition brings varied challenges. "We were in a group stage, it's different if you play the last 16 or quarter-finals or semi-finals," he mentioned. Last season was tough due to numerous issues, but previous matches have been competitive and well-fought.
Several key players are experiencing the Bernabeu for the first time. Notable names like Kevin De Bruyne, Walker, Gundogan, and Stones are absent. New players are eager to prove themselves on such a significant stage. "It's a good place to prove yourself and how you are as a team," Guardiola stated.
Next stop: Madrid @cpcompany_1971pic.twitter.com/Wvu7yPAz4D
- Manchester City (@ManCity) December 9, 2025
Guardiola's Record Against Real Madrid
Guardiola has faced Real Madrid 27 times before, winning nearly half of those encounters (W13 D7 L7). However, he hasn't secured a victory in his last four meetings with them (D2 L2). He aims to avoid extending this streak to five consecutive winless matches.
The upcoming match also reunites Guardiola with Xabi Alonso. Alonso played under Guardiola at Bayern Munich from 2014 to 2016, making 79 appearances. Recently, Alonso's position at Madrid has been under scrutiny following a 2-0 loss to Celta Vigo in LaLiga.
Challenges of Managing Top Clubs
Guardiola expressed his disagreement with opinions surrounding Alonso's role at Madrid. "Their opinion, I don't agree with their opinion," he said regarding speculation about Alonso. He sympathises with Alonso due to their shared history and acknowledges the challenges of managing top clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid.
"Barcelona and Real Madrid are the toughest clubs to be manager of because of the environment," Guardiola noted. Despite injuries similar to City's last season, he believes Alonso is capable of fulfilling his managerial duties at Real Madrid.
The pressure to win is immense everywhere today; failure often leads to problems. In England, locker room matters remain private, but in Spain, especially at Barca and Real Madrid, everything becomes public knowledge.
