Thursday, 24th April, 2014
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola is proud of the way his team performed against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu last night, but insisted that they will have to improve their performance in the return leg if they want to qualify for the final.
A Karim Benzema strike in the 19th minute saw the Spanish club add a home win to their tally in the competition as the Bundesliga champions failed to create a chance for an away goal and lost 1-0 in the first leg of the last-four stage.
The defending champions kept most of the possession throughout the game, and the manager is happy with the way they handled Carlo Ancelotti’s counter-attacking side, but feels the Bavarians will have to step up their game when they take to the field for the return leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
“I'm proud of my team. They showed a lot of strength against one of the best teams in the world. I think that we can still crank up a gear or two in the return leg”, Guardiola was quoted as saying by UEFA’s official site.
relatedNewsStory
“We wanted to have a lot of possession and have a quick transition from defence to attack. We controlled the game, but Madrid were waiting to counter-attack and they have the players to take advantage of this.
“They are very physical; they are the best team in the world on the counter-attack. We wanted to have long spells of possession and try to keep the ball out on the wings. We lacked a goal. There is another game and we will try to win in front of our fans”, the 43-year-old continued.
“The result today is certainly not ideal, but we can still improve in the second leg.”
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
