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Pep on Walker fitness, Treble quest and facing not being 'scared' of Real Madrid

Simon Stone - Chief football news reporter
·2 min read

Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final second-leg with Real Madrid.

Here are the main lines from his press conference:

  • On Kyle Walker's fitness after a hamstring injury: "I will see. He trained good. He feels something but he feels good with his mood and face. I don't know if it will be from the beginning or from the bench but he will be with us tomorrow, which is incredibly good news."

  • On his personal thoughts on facing Real Madrid: "Real Madrid in this competition is always a big game. It's special for me, as a player and manager. I don't fear them but I respect them a lot. I've faced them many times. If I say I'm scared of them, I would be false."

  • On Jude Bellingham: "At a top club like Madrid or Barcelona it is not easy to settle quickly. From the beginning his impact was huge in terms of goals and many things. At his age, he feels pressure without a problem, he has a good mentality and is an exceptional player. We have to control him and take a look at what he does."

  • On an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea less than 72 hours after facing Real Madrid: "I would not complain one second about that. It's better to be here than not. Twenty-four hours a day is a lot so you can find a way, you have a lot of people to help you. What is important is to take the right decisions."

  • On the prospect of completing a Double Treble: "We are far away from those hypothetical dreams. You saw (last night) how strong Chelsea are. When I was a few points behind I said we had to do our job. It is the same feeling now. It's like when we drew against Arsenal and the computer said we had no chance and now we have a chance - I don't know if the computer can play left-back or right-back - but we just have to go one game at a time. I started to think of the Treble last season when we beat (Manchester) United in the FA Cup final. The success for me this season is that after winning the Treble we are four or five weeks away (from the end of the season) and (we are) still in contention."