Pep’s fear of City ‘failure’
PEP GUARDIOLA says Manchester City will be branded failures if they do not win the Champions League.
City go to Lyon tonight looking to secure the win that will guarantee them top spot in Group F and book a place in the knockout stages with a game to spare.
Despite all their domestic success in recent seasons, City have struggled to make a significant impact on the biggest club stage.
Their best run in the competition was when they reached the semi-finals under Manuel Pellegrini in 2016 before losing to Real Madrid.
Owner Sheikh Mansour has invested more than £1 billion in making City one of the powerhouses of European football.
But becoming kings of Europe for the first time remains the club’s Holy Grail – and Guardiola believes that in some people’s eyes City have to win the Champions League to be considered one of the truly great sides.
The Spaniard said: “For the people who don’t love us too much, then we would have failed.
“I’m pretty sure our fans don’t have regrets for what these guys have been doing.
“That is the best compliment, the best success a team can have. We want to continue the level in the Premier League and arrive in the best condition possible.
“But try to win the Champions League, why not? We want the last 16 and they know the size of the competition – it speaks for itself.”
Guardiola, who will be without the injured quartet of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan, has never won all three Champions League group games on his travels as a manager.
He admits achieving this would be the perfect form of revenge, considering Lyon produced a shock win at the Etihad in September.
He said: “We lost the first game against a tough team, but now we have the chance to qualify with one game left. We come to do our jobs. In the last month we have played at a high level, scoring a lot of goals.
“Never in nine or 10 years have I been able to win three games away, so it will be an exceptional situation.”
Meanwhile Guardiola insists rising superstar Phil Foden is ready to light up the stage.
Foden has spent the past 12 months emerging as one of the most exciting young talents in English football.
The attacking midfielder, 18, inspired the England Under-17 side to win the World Cup in India last year before setting about the challenge of establishing himself in the City side.
Despite showing glimpses of his extraordinary gifts, Foden has still struggled to hold down a regular place.
While England boss Gareth Southgate has called up emerging talents such as Jadon Sancho, Ben Chilwell and Lewis Dunk, Foden – who is poised to sign a new and improved long-term contract with City – has been kept waiting for his senior bow.
This could have something to do with the fact that Southgate is concerned about Foden’s lack of significant game time at club level, with just two starts this season. All that could be about to change.
LYON (probable): MANCHESTER CITY (probable):
MAN CITY LYON HOFFENHEIM S DONETSK P W D L F 4 3 0 1 12 4 1 3 0 9 4 0 3 1 8 4 0 2 2 4 A 3 8 9 1