Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has decided to make a strange decision in his team preparation for Real Madrid visit to the Etihad.
City are looking at turning around a three-goal deficit against Real Madrid in the Champions League second-leg round of 16 clash. Ahead of the game, Guardiola has decided to cancel his side’s training session on Monday.
Guardiola cancelled the team training on Monday – which was supposed to be scheduled for 3pm GMT – and has insisted that his players will train on Tuesday morning, ahead of the second leg later that day.
Pep Guardiola attends the press conference of Manchester City ahead their UEFA Champions League 2025/26, Round of 16 first leg, against Real Madrid. (Photo By Irina R. Hipolito/Europa Press via Getty Images)
“We will train tomorrow,” he revealed in his press conference, doubling down when asked to clarify whether his squad would train on the morning of the match.
It is not the first time Guardiola has taken that decision this season, after he gave his players an extra day off ahead of their final league phase match against Borussia Dortmund back in November.
They had suffered a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa in the lead-up to the game, as well as a trip to Swansea in the League Cup and a home league fixture against Bournemouth in a tricky period for his side.
As such, the Catalan gave the City players an extra day’s recovery, and they repaid him with a 4-1 victory over Dortmund to seal their automatic progression into the last 16 of the competition.
Bernardo Silva, who joined Guardiola in Monday’s press conference, responded to the cancellation.
“I was the only one who didn’t get a day off,” he joked.
“We’ve done it in the past, plenty of times. When we lost games, when we’ve won games, when the manager felt it was best for the team.
“With all the trips we’ve had this week, I think he felt it best for us to sleep better and come back tomorrow stronger and ready for the game.”
