SOCCER: Guardiola hails City's resilience after battling win at Real Madrid

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lauded his players’ resilience and determination after they staged a comeback to secure a 2-1 victory against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

City struggled in the opening 30 minutes, looking vulnerable to Real Madrid’s relentless attacks. However, Nico O'Reilly’s equalizer and Erling Haaland’s penalty turned the game around, overturning Rodrygo’s early goal and giving the visitors three crucial points in the group stage.

Guardiola acknowledged that City had been second best in the early stages but praised the character that helped them recover from a slow start.

“We’ve been here several times and played much, much better than today and didn’t win,” Guardiola said of City’s previous visits to the Bernabeu. “In the first 25 minutes, until the goal from Nico, they were much better than us. I will take the result but I know we need to be better. I know that in February and March, if we go through, the level we require is higher than today.”

After taking the lead, City showed greater composure, with Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden troubling Real’s defense throughout the second half. Guardiola singled out Doku for his impressive performance.

“Every time we lost the ball, they threatened, especially with Vinicius Jr, many, many times,” he said. “It was good to score a goal because it helped us get back into the game. Jeremy Doku was outstanding today, like other players too. It was a good experience for us being here, for many new players coming for the first time to this stadium, where it is so tough to play.

“I have to be so grateful to the players. I’m happy,” he added. “I’ve been here many times in these last few years. We’ve fought many battles, and we’ve been much better than today but didn’t manage to win. This is a reality.”

With City now fourth in the group standings on 13 points, Guardiola will be hoping his team carries this resilience into the final two league-stage matches to secure a top-eight finish and direct qualification to the round of 16. -Fernando Kallas/Reuters