Pep Guardiola, has claimed on Wednesday that Manchester City was ideally ready for their Champions League semifinal matchup against Real Madrid and had the ideal balance of tranquillity and stress.
The English champions destroyed the defending champs 4-0 with a brutal performance to win the match 5-1 overall.
It was delicious retaliation for a devastating semifinal loss to Real Madrid one year prior.
“I had the feeling these last days that we had a mix of calm and tension to play these type of games.
“And after 10 or 15 minutes, I had the feeling that all the pain that we had, what happened last season . . . it was really tough, losing the way we lost and I think in the moment we had to swallow poison,” Guardiola told reporters.
Last year, Real Madrid eliminated Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate thanks to an incredible comeback.
“In sport, obviously you have another chance and when the draw was Madrid, I said, ‘Yeah, I want it’,” Guardiola said.
After Erling Haaland missed two golden opportunities to put City in control after Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez finished off the carnage.
Real Madrid, who are the current champions and a record 14-time European champions, arrived with history on their side.
This time, the players continued to celebrate on the field for hours after the final whistle, with Haaland sporting a Norwegian flag across his shoulders.
“Tonight was much, more better,” Guardiola said. “I felt, I don’t know why, you smelled that the team was ready to compete at the level that they competed today.”
As they take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3, City is three victories away from a treble and may take the Premier League title as early as this weekend.
“We’re closer. This season is really really good, what we’ve really done already.
“The pleasure, the joy, how much we have fun this season again and again. We make happy our fans, all around the world watching us, they see a good team playing. This is the biggest compliment,” Guardiola said.