West Ham United host Manchester City in Saturday’s late Premier League kick-off and, as Paco Jemez points out, Real Madrid have provided a pretty handy blueprint of how to defeat Pep Guardiola’s title-challengers.
In his pre-match press conference, Nuno Espirito Santo revealed he likes to ‘steal’ ideas from other coaches and other teams.
West Ham United’s occasionally-plagiarising Portuguese coach will therefore have spent much of the last 48 hours poring over Real Madrid’s 3-0 Champions League demolition of Manchester City, with Paco Jemez in tow.
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West Ham United assistant Paco Jemez hails Real Madrid’s Man City dismantling
Speaking on the SER podcast, former La Liga boss Jemez admits he found it a very eye-opening watch, seeing Real Madrid exploit City’s weaknesses while planting one foot firmly into the competition’s quarter-finals.
“We play [Man City this weekend], and it was interesting to see how Madrid approached it,” says Jemez. “I think Madrid were very effective in neutralising City’s most important attacking threats, which are almost always down the wings.
“I think the support from the midfielders and wingers was always timely, and that made City more ‘stuck’ in attack than what we are habitually used to seeing, right?
Paco Jemez looks on during West Ham United's Premier League game agiainst Bournemouth.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“I really liked Madrid. I liked them because they put up a very difficult fight against an opponent that is almost impossible to beat. Manchester City have so much talent.
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“I liked how Madrid played against an opponent who, in theory, seemed far superior. And yet, they got a result that – while not definitive – is one that all Madrid fans would have dreamed of before the match.”
Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo quiet at the Bernabeu
While a rampaging Fede Valverde fired a first-half hat-trick past Gianluigi Donnarumma, Real Madrid restricted City to an ‘expected goals’ tally of just 0.56.
Jemez highlights how Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Antoine Semenyo were seldom left one-v-one with the home side’s full-backs. Valverde tracked back diligently to help out Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right, while Arda Guler went through plenty of hard yards on the left.
Speed demon Adama Traore has torn a Pep Guardiola backline apart before – he scored a brace in a 2-0 Wolves win at the Etihad in 2019 – and his counter-attacking threat is likely to be a massive asset in Crysencio Summerville’s absence.
Out of possession though, Traore and Jarrod Bowen will have to strap on the nose bag and do their fair share of dirty work to ensure Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are not left exposed.
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Erling Haaland of Manchester City looks dejected after the Premier League match between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest at Etihad Stadium on March 4, 2026 in Manchester, England.
“I really hope they’re distracted by the Champions League and don’t pay attention to us but, knowing Guardiola, I think that’s unlikely,” Jemez admits. “It’s complicated. It’s true that the result the other day will force City to make a massive effort on Tuesday [in the return leg].
“Well, we’re in the middle of it all. Maybe our game isn’t their priority, but it’s also true that after City’s stumble at home against Forest (the 2-2 draw recently), they can’t afford any liberties in the league if they want to compete with Arsenal.
“So, I’m not expecting a distracted City at all. But with so many matches on the schedule, we’ll see if we are able to play a good game and get something positive out of it.”
Jemez will surely urge Nuno Espirito Santo to beef up the midfield
Guardiola famously put Bayern Munich’s crushing 4-0 defeat by Real Madrid in 2014 down to a lack of midfielders in the centre of the park, feeling that he had got his team selection badly wrong by overloading the frontline and allowing Los Blancos to seize control centrally.
There were shades of that in another heavy defeat by Madrid on Wednesday.
Jemez admits he was taken aback by City’s line-up; Bernardo Silva and Rodri left exposed and isolated in a sluggish two-man pivot.
“It surprised me a little because I’ve heard Guardiola say many times that, for a team to play well, it needs a lot of midfielders. And he’s not wrong!” adds Jemez, who presumably will be urging Nuno to field a three-man combination of Mateus Fernandes, Tomas Soucek, Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa or even Mohamadou Kante.
“For coaches like us who like to have possession, the more midfielders you play, the easier that aspect becomes.
“But while we perhaps didn’t see the best Manchester City, I think we did see a great Real Madrid. Possibly the best Madrid I’ve seen this season, especially considering the players they were missing.”
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