Pep Guardiola: Real Madrid more 'aggressive' since Ronaldo left | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has claimed that the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo has made Real Madrid a more “aggressive” team.

Ronaldo spent nine seasons at the Bernabeu, and his electric pace allowed Los Blancos to devastate opponents on the counter-attack.

However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner moved to Juventus in the summer of 2018 and Guardiola expressed admiration for how his counterpart Zinedine Zidane has accounted for the departure of such a unique talent.

“Ronaldo, like Messi, is a guy who scores 50 or 60 goals a season,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

“Any team can suffer a little bit if they leave. But it is now their second season without him and Madrid are playing at a good level.

“I have seen their games and there are things they did not do before. They press forward and they don’t wait. They are incredibly aggressive with the quality of the players they have.”

Pep will bring his City side to the Bernabeu on Wednesday for the first leg of the clubs’ Champions League Round of 16 clash.