Ancelotti Suggests Guardiola May Be Underestimating Manchester City’s Prospects

Real Madrid’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti (65) remarked on Tuesday that his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola (54) is intentionally downplaying the Premier League side’s chances of advancing to the Champions League Round of 16.

As the reigning European champions, Madrid hold a narrow 3-2 advantage over City, who are currently struggling in fourth place in the Premier League, ahead of the decisive second leg match on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Despite their impressive 4-0 victory against Newcastle on Saturday, Guardiola claimed that City had merely a one per cent likelihood of overcoming the 15-time European Cup winners.

“He doesn’t genuinely believe that; I’ll ask him before the match tomorrow – do you truly think you have only a one per cent chance?” Ancelotti stated during a press conference.

“He knows they’ve got better odds than that… we aren’t assuming we have a 99 per cent chance.

“We see ourselves with a small advantage that we need to leverage, and aim to replicate the approach we used in the initial leg, which was successful.”

Ancelotti confirmed that defender Antonio Rudiger is fit to start for the defending champions following injury, whereas Lucas Vazquez will only be available from the bench.

The manager also expressed his dissatisfaction with the standard of refereeing in Spain after a string of contentious decisions that have gone against his team in recent La Liga fixtures.

However, Ancelotti conveyed greater comfort with officiating in the Champions League.

“The statistics tell the story; in Europe, there’s less controversy in this regard, and fewer VAR interventions,” he noted.

“VAR only steps in when absolutely necessary, and the Champions League typically features the finest referees from their respective countries, which raises the overall quality.”

Meanwhile, England international Jude Bellingham was sent off for dissent during Madrid’s recent 1-1 draw at Osasuna in La Liga.

Bellingham’s teammate Federico Valverde expressed his desire for the midfielder to maintain his passionate approach.

“What I want is players who give their all on the pitch, and in Jude’s case, especially in the last game, I always want him to play with that intensity,” Valverde told reporters.

“Jude is a player full of character, someone who’s always eager to win and compete.

“Although he was shown a red card this time, I appreciate that he leaves everything out there, his tenacity… we need to remain united as a team.”