Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke glowingly of Rodrygo Goes and offered a frank breakdown of his team’s performance after City’s 2–1 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. The Catalan
coach, who knows the difficulty of beating Madrid in Europe better than most, acknowledged the challenges his side faced — particularly against a brilliant Rodrygo — before ultimately securing the win.
“Rodrygo is from another level”
“I told Rodrygo how good he is. He’s a player from another level… this kid is a player on another level. I’m glad he’s back from injury. He’s very, very good.”
City struggled early: “They were much better”
Guardiola admitted that his team were second-best for large stretches before their equalizer swung momentum.
“Until the goal we scored, they were much better. We could not control them, we tried to have the ball but not with intention to be aggressive with it.
“Every time we lost the ball they punished us, especially with Rodrygo many times.”
Improvements after halftime
“The second half was much better. In the end it was good to score a goal because it helped us to be there.”
Winning at the Bernabéu: “A big, big task”
“Winning in the Bernabeu is a big big task, really big task, especially in this competition, don’t misunderstand me.”
