The Spanish coach Pep Guardiola returned to his dialogue with his French counterpart Zinedine Zidane after the end of a match that guaranteed Manchester City a presence in the Champions League quarter-finals, and a step towards achieving the dream of crowning the championship for the first time in the club's history.
Manchester City repeated its victory over Real Madrid 2-1 on Friday, and achieved qualification in aggregate first and second matches (4-2), in a match that saw Guardiola's clear advantage over Zidane.
The raging conflict between the coaches did not prevent their meeting after the match, and they chatted for a moment near the line of contact, in the scene of making the event on social media last night.
Guardiola did not provide details on the content of that conversation, and said in statements after the meeting, "I wanted to congratulate him on the crowning of his team with the Spanish League title, and I also asked him about the health of his family, and perhaps we will have dinner together and talk someday."
#UCL El #CityRealMadrid ya ha terminado, nadie sobre el césped del Etihad… excepto estos dos grandes entrenadores, ¿de qué charlarían Zidane y Guardiola al término del partido de Champions?
🎥 @miguelangelara pic.twitter.com/mwkwVxU5Pi
- MARCA (@marca) August 7, 2020
Yesterday's match was an opportunity for Manchester City to send a warning message to the rest of the competitors, and to confirm its readiness to compete for the championship title, after years of failing to reach the final.
Under Guardiola's leadership, City have always fallen into the knockout rounds, losing to Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Monaco in the past three seasons.
But the heavenly team has shown maturity and control likely that it may be ready to compete seriously this season, waiting for confirmation, starting from the quarter-final match against Lyon, France, next Saturday.
City fans may think that this year may be the year of their team, but Guardiola realizes that there are many good teams, and many surprises await him in the next rounds, which will be organized in the form of a mini-tournament in Lisbon.
"It is an important first step, winning over Real Madrid is great, but we have to go to Portugal. We have to eat well, be united, laugh, make a lot of effort, get there in the best way to face Lyon, and try to qualify for the semi-finals for the second time," the Spanish coach said. We just have to be calm. "