Guardiola warns Real Madrid: Losing by three goals is better than losing by four.

Guardiola warns Real Madrid: Losing by three goals is better than losing by four.

 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his team will not give up on their Champions League dream despite Wednesday's 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

City will need to overturn a three-goal deficit at the Etihad Stadium when the two sides meet again in the second leg next Tuesday. The manager believes the task will be difficult, but he hopes City's fans will inspire the team to a remarkable comeback against the 15-time champions.

When asked about the team's chances of reaching the quarter-finals, Guardiola told Manchester City's website: "At the moment, not much. Of course, we'll try, but it's difficult right now."

He added: "But we'll be there with our fans, and we'll try to play better and be more active in the final third. We'll try." Federico Valverde had completely outplayed City by scoring a hat-trick in the first half, although the scoreline could have been worse had Gianluigi Donnarumma not saved Vinicius Junior's penalty.

This save could prove a pivotal moment if City can find a way to overcome the Spanish giants in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola said: "3-0 is better than 4-0, we can't deny that."

He added: "Sometimes it's difficult to control transitions when we lose possession and they connect with the attack. They don't clear the ball, and then players like Vinicius can break free. I felt the performance was acceptable, and we played well."

He emphasized: "I don't know how many times we reached the goal line. There were individual attempts from Jérémy Doku, and long balls in the second half, especially towards Antoine Simeone and Nicolò Aurelio. Then there were passes into the six-yard box, but we couldn't beat Courtois."

He continued: "We lacked that touch in the first 50 minutes. We didn't defend the first goal well, and then their quality shone through. It's a tough result, but now we'll recover, we go to West Ham, and then we'll try with our fans. I think we tried our best, but we didn't create enough chances to force Courtois into action. We got into the box a lot – and when you can do that, it means you've followed a good process."