Guardiola Unveils Secret Mourinho Strategy Following Massive Behind-the-Scenes Boost

Pep Guardiola revealed following Manchester City's successful bid to secure an automatic Champions League round of 16 spot ahead of Real Madrid that he will "certainly" be expressing his gratitude to former rival José Mourinho.

Mourinho's Benfica delivered a stunning 4–2 victory over Real Madrid in Lisbon, claiming their own knockout playoff berth while dropping Los Blancos to ninth position and allowing City's 2–0 triumph against Galatasaray to secure a top-eight finish—Guardiola confirmed his squad was "monitoring the match from the changing room."

Any defeat for Real Madrid would have satisfied City's requirements. However, Guardiola's team and coaching staff were amazed when Benfica keeper Anatoliy Trubin advanced for a corner kick in the dying moments and delivered a powerful header beyond Thibaut Courtois.

The Trubin Show 😲🤯😱🫢#UCL pic.twitter.com/HGpdqNm2Rc

Mourinho's team was already leading 3–2 but required one additional goal to improve their goal differential and leapfrog Marseille, who have now been knocked out, to claim 24th place.

"We were unaware that Benfica required [an extra] goal to advance [to the knockout playoffs], so when their keeper moved forward, we wondered: 'What's happening?!' But it proved to be smart tactics from José," Guardiola acknowledged.

Bye to Round of 16 Important for Man City

Bye to Round of 16 Important for Man City

Securing a top-eight position means skipping an entire competition round, avoiding the knockout playoffs reserved for the 16 teams finishing ninth through 24th.

This eliminates two additional matches from an already packed fixture list.

Without Mourinho, whose Real Madrid managerial stint from 2010–2013 coincided with Guardiola's Barcelona era and witnessed both clubs drive each other to excellence—conflicts even escalated to physical altercations between staff, orchestrating Benfica's victory would have resulted in two extra Champions League matches for City in February.

This burden now falls to Real Madrid, and from Manchester City's viewpoint, the Champions League can be set aside until mid-March, enabling greater concentration on an emerging Premier League title battle, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Despite avoiding the Champions League knockout playoff, City face seven scheduled fixtures in February, which would have increased to nine within 28 days without Benfica's assistance. With anticipated FA Cup and Carabao Cup advancement, plus the Champions League round of 16, March appears equally demanding, featuring up to six additional matches in just 22 days before the international pause.

In total, this represents potentially 13 matches across 40 days starting in February. The joy and relief that it's not 15 matches in 40 days is completely comprehensible.

Man City Upcoming Fixtures in February, March—All Competitions

Man City Upcoming Fixtures in February, March—All Competitions

*would be postponed if Man City reach Carabao Cup final

Man City, Real Madrid Could Meet Again

Man City, Real Madrid Could Meet Again

The seeding system for the knockout stage means finishing eighth in the league phase creates the possibility of facing teams that placed ninth, 10th, 23rd or 24th in the round of 16.

Real Madrid or Inter will face Bødo/Glimt or Benfica, based on Friday's knockout playoff draw results.

Should Los Blancos be placed in Manchester City's bracket, they would be favored to advance and establish a knockout encounter for the fifth consecutive season—they already met during this season's league phase and have clashed 11 times since 2020 alone.

Man City vs. Real Madrid Results—Since 2020

Man City vs. Real Madrid Results—Since 2020