Alvaro Arbeloa, the coach of Real Madrid, spoke to the media in the press conference room at the Real Madrid sports city, a day before facing Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

The coach said: "It will be a tough match against a great opponent with fantastic players and a great coach. It will be a very beautiful and anticipated match by the fans. We are well aware that we need our fans, and our only goal is to win the match, and that is what we will enter the field with. We are very excited. The Champions League is a very special tournament for all of us, and with this mentality, desire, and enthusiasm, we want to play this match."

He added: "We will need to monitor many players because they are all very good. It's a team with a lot of individual capabilities, but it also knows how to deliver excellent team performance. They have very clear ideas and have been working with Pep Guardiola for seven or eight years. They know each other perfectly and can play as if they are blindfolded. It's a match that requires great focus and doing many things right, whether in defense, attack, or set-pieces. Every second and every detail is important, but we are confident, ready, and very excited to start the match."

He continued: "If I said earlier that Real Madrid is always the favorite, that's what I believe. We are Real Madrid and we never feel inferior to any team. It doesn't matter the circumstances or the opponent in front of us, we know well the value of our opponent, the strength of the club, the players, and the coach, and what Manchester City represents, who were crowned European champions two years ago. Every time we faced them, it was a tough encounter, but we will approach it with great enthusiasm and confidence.. we will enter tomorrow's match to win."

About facing Guardiola: "Guardiola always prepares a surprise. No matter how much you watch his teams, when a match like this comes, you know he has prepared something different. You have to think about many possibilities and changes he might make, whether in the style of play or in the players, I wouldn't be surprised if he made a change in his offensive style or introduced a different player than those he used in recent weeks. When you face a coach like Pep, you must always be ready because he thinks a lot about his plans."

On facing Guardiola for the first time: "What motivates me is playing a Champions League match like the one awaiting us tomorrow. It's a big motivation for everyone, even if this encounter has been repeated many times in recent years and has become like a classic, a night like tomorrow in front of our fans is a great motivation, and for me as a coach, facing the best coaches in the world is also motivating. It will be a great experience, and I am very excited for it."

He continued about Mbappe's condition: "He is much better. As I said in recent weeks, it's about progressing day by day. This week has been very positive, and he returned with a very good feeling. He is improving every day, and we are waiting for his return soon."

About Vinicius: "For us, his presence on the field is very important. We have absences of key players in the team, and they are among the best in the world. Vinicius currently bears a great responsibility and is our most important offensive weapon. We need the best version of him if we want to eliminate Manchester City."

Regarding Camavinga's return: "He is now much better. He went through a very difficult week due to an infection and was in bad condition and couldn't eat for several days. But he has been back training with the team since Saturday and is now in good shape and available for the match."

On relying on academy players: "Everyone agrees that the academy players delivered a great match in Vigo. They didn't tremble in those difficult circumstances. Thiago Betaric played a great match, Cesar Palacios gave the team a different shape and was dangerous offensively, and Manuel Angel was decisive in that ball. It's not easy for any coach at Real Madrid to rely on academy players because the team includes the best players in the world, and when you involve an academy player, it means excluding a first-team player, but I do it because I am convinced that they can make a contribution. I trust them a lot, and they have great talent. The fans feel connected to them because they see the fight, passion, and heart they play with. We have many players capable of helping us, and they are ready for matches like tomorrow's."

About his two months of coaching Real Madrid: "There is a big difference. During these two months, a person gains more experience. I am the same person, but now I have two months of experience as a coach of Real Madrid, and that in itself is like a master's degree. Every day I spend here is not just a dream but also a great educational experience. I am grateful for every day I live here and will certainly enjoy it."

He continued about his statement after the win at Celta Vigo and whether he meant a specific player (Camavinga): "When I said I was happy with those who attended, it simply means I was happy with those who attended. My words do not mean that there were players who didn't want to attend, I just wanted to appreciate the players who made a great effort even though they weren't in the best physical condition to go to Vigo. There were several players who made a huge effort to play that match and fight with their teammates, the interpretation that was given to my words is your interpretation. I am responsible for what I say, not for what may be understood from it. And I clarify here: any player who did not travel to Vigo, it was not because he did not want to go."

He concluded in statements about Juan Laporta regarding the Negreira case: "The candidate for the presidency of Barcelona, Juan Laporta, quadrupled the payments to Negreira, so there is no need to say much."