Manchester City defeated Madrid, took advantage of the crisis Real is in and sent a message on the biggest stage that they want to be a factor in the Champions League again.
The "Citizens" defeated the "Blancos" 2:1 with goals from Nick O'Reilly and Erling Haaland, playing a very good match, but Pep Guardiola is looking at the bigger picture - he saw something he didn't like, although triumphs at the "Bernabeu" are always worth double.
"The victory in Madrid is a big, big boost for us, but at the same time a big school for us. I realized that if we want to be competitive in February or March, when the stakes are higher, we have to be at a much higher level. What we are showing now is not enough," said Guardiola.
City had better performances, claims the Catalan.
"We have been away to Madrid many times in the last five years and we have had games where we played much better, but we have not won them. That is football and that is the reality that we have to accept, and it shows that our performances like this are not good for the finals," Guardiola pointed out.
City have recorded four wins in six matches in the Champions League, with a draw and a loss.
"We will work on improving and knowing the group of guys I work with - we will succeed in that. We need to be the best version of ourselves, because when the time comes for away games against Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Arsenal - perfection will be required," Guardiola said clearly.
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