SECOND BEST TO MESSI Guardiola: We’ve done well but we’re still way behind Barca
PEP GUARDIOLA says Manchester City remain in the shadow of his former club Barcelona – despite being Champions League favourites.
Guardiola led Barca to two European Cup wins during a glittering four-year spell and is aiming to take City to the same exalted level.
They take a 4-0 lead into tonight’s last-16, second leg tie at home to Basel and are set to reach the quarter-finals for only the second time.
But Guardiola said City, who are four wins away from securing the Premier League title, cannot be on a par with Barca until they have won multiple Champions League crowns.
Asked if they could consider themselves to be on the same level as Barca, Guardiola was unequivocal and said: “No, because it’s completely different players and teams.
“They won a lot in the past, but we are new. We’ve won one title, so it’s not possible to compare. It’s not good for us to compare ourselves with one team. That Barcelona team dominated the last decade, 15 to 20 years, with different managers, different players.
“We’ve just won our first title, the EFL Cup. To join these kind of teams, you have to be there a long time.”
Guardiola’s predecessors, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, led City to Premier League glory, but failed to take them to the next level in the Champions League.
That is the challenge facing Guardiola, although he admitted one mistake in the Champions League can send a team crashing out, irrespective of their form or status.
“We’re almost in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and we’re almost the Premier League champions,” said Guardiola.
“But we’re not in the quarter-finals yet, we’re not champions, that’s why we have to be calm – that is the best advice I can give to my players. If we show what we have to do, it will be just the second time in our whole history in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
“But we don’t have legacy behind us.
“If people say we’re favourites for the Champions League, it’s because so far we’ve done really good. But against Wigan, one action, the red card for Fabian Delph. Then Alex Zinchenko on Victor Moses against Chelsea, it was orange – it could have been yellow or red.
“If it’s red, you’re out of the Champions League.
“Real Madrid, before the first game against Paris SaintGermain, people said, ‘Oh Madrid is not good, not playing well’, but they won 3-1. So it’s different competitions.”
Raheem Sterling, who has not played since the first leg at Basel three weeks ago after suffering a hamstring injury, could return to the squad tonight.