Pep Guardiola admits that Manchester City should be perfect if they want to avoid an exit from Champions League at Real Madrid tonight.
Last week's dramatic 3-2 defeat in the play-off first stage has the pressure on City, which has not reached the last 16 of the competition since 2013.
“You have to make an almost perfect game,” Guardiola said. “We have to play with courage, be ourselves. We have to play to win the game. The pressure is there, it is more than welcome.
'If you do not perform well with the pressure, it is what it is. It depends on how we play, how we deal with the big moments in these stadiums. '
The Spaniard knows that there is enough pressure on his team, but hopes that they can channel it in a good way and avoid the earliest exit of the city in the competition since they go out in the group stage in 2012-13.
He said: 'We have to make an almost perfect game. The result was not good. We have to attack, we have to score goals.
'The pressure is there at this level, but it is more than welcome. You cannot perform well without the pressure. It's not the first time. It depends on how we play, how we deal with it. '
Erling Haaland, who watched a knee injury on Saturday in the defeat of Newcastle on Saturday, trained as normal for the game.
Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, who were all absent during the weekend, were also involved.
“They traveled. We will see how they are, but it's good news that they are here, “the Spaniard confirmed.
In the meantime, city midfielder Bernardo Silva claimed that he still comes to terms with how difficult this season has been.
“I would not have believed you if you had told me that we would really play in a play-off, not the last phases,” Silva said. “We have placed ourselves in this situation and we earn it.”
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