Pep: We must score again or we will go out

PEP GUARDIOLA hailed Manchester City’s ‘special’ comeback. But as he planned a short break in Abu Dhabi for his squad, he warned they will face a Champions League exit if they fail to score in Monaco. Guardiola is not confident of keeping Monaco’s fearsome attacking force at bay in the second leg on March 15. ‘It was special, I cannot deny that,’ said Guardiola. ‘We are still alive. Now we’re going to rest a little bit in Abu Dhabi. We are flying to Monaco to score goals — not defend. ‘Now the teams know each other better and we are going to adjust something. So are they. If we don’t score, we’ll be eliminated. I’d like to see how many teams were able to make a clean sheet against Monaco this season.’ Only two have managed that and Guardiola (left) is prepared for an onslaught at the Stade Louis II. But he praised the spirit of his side, adding: ‘The performance from those guys maybe helps this club. It helps us make another step. You have to be in trouble, to overcome the situations, to be a better team. It’s a huge compliment to the players that they didn’t give up. It’s not easy to control. Sometimes the football is nice, it’s beautiful.’ City central defender John Stones, who scored his first Champions League goal but was exposed by Monaco’s flying forward line, reflected on ‘great team spirit, great desire and great goals from us’. He added: ‘We created so much and could have had a few penalties as well. I thought I needed to make amends for what happened at other end, so to get a goal on a personal level was delightful.’ Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim lamented the inexperience of his side, saying: ‘Sometimes it boils down to maturity and the age of our players is maybe part of the mistakes we made. I actually congratulated my players. We could have gone 3-1 up and that is the key moment. We wanted to put on a show because we are passionate about football.’ In the night’s other game, Atletico Madrid won 4-2 at Bayer Leverkusen.