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Guardiola Relishing the Challenge of Getting City Back on Track

Soccer Football - Champions League - Sporting CP v Manchester City - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - November 5, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Action Images via Reuters)
Soccer Football - Champions League - Sporting CP v Manchester City - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - November 5, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Action Images via Reuters)
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Guardiola Relishing the Challenge of Getting City Back on Track

Soccer Football - Champions League - Sporting CP v Manchester City - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - November 5, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Action Images via Reuters)
Soccer Football - Champions League - Sporting CP v Manchester City - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - November 5, 2024 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Action Images via Reuters)

Manchester City's 4-1 Champions League defeat at Sporting on Tuesday saw them lose three matches in a row for the first time since 2018 but manager Pep Guardiola said he is looking forward to the challenge of getting them back on track.

The defeat in Europe's elite club competition came after they were knocked out of the League Cup by Tottenham Hotspur and had a 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League ended by Bournemouth.

Injury-hit City were without the likes of Rodri, Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and John Stones and gave a first start to 19-year-old defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey in the match.

"It is a tough challenge, but I am here. It will be a tough season - we knew that from the start. But this is what it is. I like it, I love it, I want to face it and lift my players and try it ...," Guardiola told reporters.

"I have to try and find an explanation. Sometimes it is just football. We have to accept it. Life is that, sport is that."

City, second in the Premier League behind Liverpool, travel to face eighth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

"We are coming back to Manchester to prepare the game against Brighton. I am not giving up. Maybe people are waiting but I am not giving up," Guardiola said.

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Ancelotti Calls for Real Madrid Reaction after Consecutive Losses

Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
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Ancelotti Calls for Real Madrid Reaction after Consecutive Losses

Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
Soccer Football - Champions League - Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - October 22, 2024 Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts before the match REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti wants a positive reaction from his side after they suffered losses against Barcelona in LaLiga and AC Milan in the Champions League, as the team prepare for Saturday's league clash against Osasuna.

After a humiliating 4-0 home defeat by Barca, Real were again dominated at their own ground, falling to a 3-1 loss to Milan in a display that exposed last season's Champions League winners' poor defending and lack of firepower.

Ancelotti's side sit second in the league standings with 24 points from 11 matches, nine points behind leaders Barcelona, who have played a game more.

"Osasuna are doing very well, playing brave football and well positioned in the table," Ancelotti told reporters, Reuters reported.

"We see tomorrow as a great opportunity to get back to doing things right... at this moment in time, which is obviously difficult. We have a chance to get back to our best.

"We have analysed the situation. We think we have found the solution, but it has to be seen in practice. We want to see a different version tomorrow. I see the team united, motivated and aware. But we have to wait until tomorrow to see if we act in the right way."

The Italian was confident forward Kylian Mbappe, 25, would return to his best form.

Mbappe, who joined from Paris St Germain in June, has been playing a more central role at Real than he was accustomed to at the Ligue 1 club and has scored just once in his last six games in all competitions.

On Thursday, the France captain was also left out of his country's squad to face Israel and Italy in this month's Nations League games, stretching his absence in the national team to four matches.

"He's training well, he's going through a difficult moment... like each one of us. And like all of us, he has to think that this is an opportunity, that if he is clever he can get through it, but it requires more concentration and attitude," Ancelotti said.

"This is a strong, motivated group and the biggest club in the world. This is the best place to get through difficult times. And I am convinced that we will," he added.