MADRID: Coach Carlo Ancelotti is not buying Manchester City rival Pep Guardiola’s suggestion that his own side have only a 1 percent chance of eliminating Real Madrid in the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.
Madrid rallied late to win the first leg 3-2 last week in England to seize control ahead of their home match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
After City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday, Guardiola said his team would arrive in the Spanish capital with a “1 percent” chance of going through to the round of 16.
“He doesn’t really think that,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday in a pre-match news conference. “Tomorrow I’ll ask him before the match if he really thinks that they only have a 1 percent chance. He thinks he has more than that, just as we don’t think that we have only a 99 percent chance. We know that we have an advantage, and we have to make the most of it.”
Guardiola later said he lied a bit when he talked about the 1 percent, and that he knows City’s chances of reversing the first-leg defeat are higher than that.
“You have to play an almost perfect game,” he said. “The result was not so good, we usually come into the second leg with a better result, so it is not the perfect situation. We have to attack, we have to score goals. We want to win, so let’s see if we can adjust some things that didn’t work in the first leg.”
Ancelotti said he was not one of those coaches who liked to fully downplay his team’s advantage.
“It’s foolish to say that we will prepare for the game as if we were tied 0-0,” he said. “Nobody will believe you because it’s a fact that we scored three goals and City two. You can’t change that. We have to try to play the same way as we played a week ago, but without forgetting that we have an advantage.”
Guardiola has never failed in 16 seasons of coaching — four at Barcelona, three at Bayern and nine in Manchester — to take his team to the last 16. The 2012-13 season was the last time City did not play at that stage.
City have been struggling recently, though, and Guardiola said that has to be taken into consideration.
“This season the reality is we have been miles, miles away,” he said. “The results have been poor.”
Madrid got the better of City in the quarterfinals last year, and with a 3-1 win in extra time in the semifinals in 2022. Each time Ancelotti’s team went on to win the title, extending the club’s record to 15 Champions League trophies.
Ancelotti can count on central defender Antonio Rüdiger, who has recovered from the muscle injury that has kept him out in recent weeks. Against City last week, Ancelotti fielded an improvised back line who played together for the first time.
Ferland Mendy, youngster Raúl Asencio and midfielders Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde played at the back in England.
Ancelotti said Rüdiger can start on Wednesday, though he didn’t say whether the central defender would replace Tchouaméni or the 22-year-old Asencio.
It is the fourth consecutive season in which the teams are facing each other in the Champions League, with City prevailing in the semifinals two seasons ago on their way to winning the European title for the first time.
Ancelotti downplays Guardiola’s suggestion Man City have 1 percent chance of eliminating Madrid in playoffs
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Ancelotti downplays Guardiola’s suggestion Man City have 1 percent chance of eliminating Madrid in playoffs
- “He doesn’t really think that,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday in a pre-match news conference
- Guardiola later said he lied a bit when he talked about the 1 percent, and that he knows City’s chances of reversing the first-leg defeat are higher than that
Emirates NBA Cup forming ‘its own identity’, as final 8 teams advance
- NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations James Jones say players now “understand the value” of the competition
DUBAI: The Emirates NBA Cup continues to gather pace in its second showing, with eight teams advancing to the knockout rounds and league executives highlighting strong global interest, including significant growth in the Middle East.
The quarterfinal lineup features the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns. The quarterfinals begin on Dec. 9, followed by the semifinals on Dec. 13 and the championship game on Dec. 16, with both the semifinals and final hosted in Las Vegas.
The Emirates NBA Cup was established in 2023 and its first two events were won by the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.
A tournament that has changed perceptions
League officials say the Cup has quickly established itself as a competitive focal point in the early months of the season. James Jones, NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations, said players now approach the event with far stronger investment than during its launch year.
He explained that although the Cup concept felt unfamiliar at first, its structure and stakes have now become part of the league’s competitive rhythm.
“Once the players began to understand the concept of the Cup, they became excited because it created enhanced competition. The Cup has started to form its own identity. There are multiple ways to win: You can win the Cup, and you can also win the NBA Championship. There is nothing better than having two trophies in one season.”
Growing audiences in the Middle East
Interest in the Emirates NBA Cup continues to rise across international markets. Jones highlighted the Middle East as one of the fastest-growing regions for viewership, with Abu Dhabi’s consistent NBA presence playing a central role. The UAE capital hosted preseason games each year from 2022 to 2025, building a strong regional fan base and elevating awareness of the league.
“Viewership continues to soar,” he said. “Everyone was waiting to see how the league and the players would respond to the Cup, and now they can see that we are fully invested. Our global games, particularly in Abu Dhabi, have made the NBA more familiar to fans in the region. The growth over the last five years has been remarkable.”
This year’s knockout rounds feature several marquee names, including LeBron James and Luka Doncic, with the Lakers, Kevin Durant with the Suns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with Oklahoma City and Jalen Brunson leading the Knicks, among others. Their presence has lifted international engagement as the tournament approaches its decisive stages.
“Big names definitely boost viewership, and their presence also raises the level of competition,” Jones said. “The Cup gives young players a platform to show how good they are. Those moments usually only happen in the playoffs, but now we see them in December.”
McGrady: Cup brings playoff pressure earlier in the season
NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady shared a similar sentiment, praising the Emirates NBA Cup for giving developing teams valuable postseason-style exposure.
“It gives those bottom-feed teams that are struggling to put a roster together, to build a team and make a run to the playoffs, a chance to feel that playoff atmosphere again,” McGrady said. “Because it is in-season, it raises the competitive nature of the league.”
“In terms of competition, it is very competitive, and that is what we want.”
As the quarterfinals tip off on Dec. 9 and the semifinals draw closer in Las Vegas, the Emirates NBA Cup continues to establish itself as one of the most influential features of the NBA calendar, shaping early-season momentum and giving fans a December preview of the intensity usually reserved for the NBA playoffs in spring.
