Pep Guardiola asked Real Madrid to improve the state of their pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
In an exciting quarter-final first leg in the Spanish capital, Bernardo Silva scored first after only two minutes with quick thinking from a free kick that surprised Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. Madrid equalized 10 minutes later with a deflected shot from Eduardo Camavinga, then took the lead with Rodrygo’s goal that slipped past City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Phil Foden leveled the score in the 66th minute with an excellent long-range shot, while Josko Gvardiol put the visitors ahead once again with another impressive shot from outside the box. However, Madrid managed to secure a draw through Federico Valverde’s brilliant volley with 11 minutes remaining.
Madrid chose to close the roof to improve the atmosphere, but Guardiola was unhappy with the condition of the playing surface for the match.
‘I haven’t set foot on it, but that’s what the players have told me,’ Guardiola said after the game.
‘Don’t let the president take it the wrong way or let the people take it the wrong way. The field is spectacular, the locker rooms… it’s an impressive piece of work.
‘I remember that Real Madrid always had very good grass, it was like a carpet, but today that was not the case. But I’m sure that they will fix it, no doubt about it and no problem.’
City midfielder Rodri also echoed Guardiola’s verdict of the Bernabeu pitch.
‘It was not good, especially for the way we play, it hurt us a little,’ Rodri said.
‘You can’t see it from above all the time. Sometimes it seems that a grass is fine and only when you get to the pitch you realise that it is not.
‘It stood up, it was not uniform so to speak. The Bernabeu has always been like a carpet, they always provide the best conditions, in that sense we do not have complaint.’
.
.
