Pep Guardiola says Manchester City know exactly what they have to do to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League.

After the semi-finals in the previous two seasons, Man City and Real will face off in round 8 this season after Friday’s draw. Real Madrid won in 2022 after staging an incredible stoppage-time comeback in the second leg at the Bernabeu. However, City showed progress when they held Madrid to a draw in the first leg last season and completely overwhelmed the away team at the Etihad.

Guardiola insisted that the win will have no bearing on this season’s clash but Jude Bellingham’s form will. The head of Man City praised the English player for turning Real into a completely different perspective.

City were keen to bring Bellingham to the Etihad, although such a move never seemed to suit the Englishman who was destined for Real Madrid when he decided to leave Borussia Dortmund last summer. However, Guardiola, like any coach in world football, prefers to cause trouble with Bellingham in his own team rather than try to find a solution as an opponent.

“The impact is huge,” Bellingham City Manager said. “It’s a different team than last season. His influence is obvious and we must try to discover what he does to control it.”

Guardiola added: “Facing Real Madrid is always a difficult challenge, no one can deny it. They are a special club and in this league can control many things with the experience they have gained in the past.

“As happened last season, there will be moments for them and moments for us. The longer we hold on to our moments, the closer we will be to each other. Hopefully we can come at the best time for the club. I think we will be there because the players are incredible. We will try to do well in Madrid, get a good performance to bring back here and then, with our guys, do it again.

“For us, it’s a bit new. For Real Madrid, playing in the quarter-finals of the Champions League is nothing special. For us, over the past years we have had stability many times and we started to apply this habit to compete in the later stages.

“We are very excited about the draw because it is a privilege. In the playoffs, it’s always like that. It’s a special competition. It wasn’t the most difficult match as there were a lot of matches in the tournament but this one was special and made you feel like you were going to Europe and playing your best football. It was great.”