Pep Guardiola Says Man City Have ‘One Percent’ Chance Against Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola concedes Manchester City have only a “one percent” hope of rescuing their situation against Real Madrid in their Champions League tie on Wednesday.

City lost a heart-wrenching 3-2 home first leg, having been 2-1 up only four minutes from time. Now they have to get past the Bernabeu.

“The probability of winning from here? Everyone knows it’s minimal—maybe one percent, maybe less,” Guardiola said. “But as long as we have a chance, we’ll give it everything, that’s for sure. We’ll do it the way we always do, but the fact is, this season we’ve been far off the mark. Our performances and results have been really poor.”

Despite their setbacks, City make the trip to Madrid with their confidence boosted following the demolition of Newcastle 4-0 in the Premier League—keeping alive their hopes for Champions League qualification next season even if this season ends in that way.

“Today, in one game, we played quite well, but it doesn’t change the whole picture,” said Guardiola. “Nevertheless, it’s always preferable to enter a game like this on the back of a victory.”