Pep Guardiola admits that Manchester City have a very slim chance—just "1%"—of staying in the Champions League as they prepare to face Real Madrid in the second leg of their playoff round on Wednesday in Spain.

Real Madrid, who won their 16th Champions League title by beating Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final, secured a 3-2 victory at the Etihad last week. They scored twice in the final minutes, overturning a 2-1 lead that had been given to City by Erling Haaland’s two goals.

Manchester City now face a tough challenge, as they have only won once at the Bernabéu—a 2-1 win in the round of 16 back in February 2020. To stay in the competition, they must find a way to defeat Carlo Ancelotti’s side on their home turf.

Guardiola, who has coached Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past, admits the task ahead is extremely difficult. However, he remains hopeful that City still have a slight chance of making it to the next round.

"The margin to win in Bernabéu in that position [3-2 down], everybody knows that if you ask before the game, the percentage to go through, I don't know, we arrive at 1%, or I don't know what," Guardiola said.

"It will be minimal, but as much as you have a chance, we will try, that's for sure, you know? "The chance is minor because the result was not good -- five minutes ago, with 2-1, it would be different.

"But with 2-3, the chance is less, but as much as you have a chance, we are going to take it, and we'll see what happens."City have endured their worst season since Guardiola took charge in 2016 during this campaign, losing 12 games in all competitions and surrendering their title hopes by mid-season.

And the City coach admits that, while this season has been hugely disappointing, Saturday's 4-0 home win against Newcastle could provide a springboard for a recovery going into final weeks of the campaign.

"Listen, there are many, many games that we didn't play the level we play, and at the end, we lost it," Guardiola said.

"And that was not just the three points, it's how it is affecting our minds for the next game. "It happened a lot of times. This season, the reality is that we have been miles, miles away.