WE’RE HUMAN CITY STILL IN EURO AGONY
PEP GUARDIOLA admits he does not know if Manchester City’s agonising Champions League exit against Tottenham will derail their title bid. Guardiola said he and his players are still hurting from Wednesday’s defeat on away goals when Raheem Sterling’s dramatic late strike – which would have sent City through – was ruled out for offside by VAR. The Blues tackle Spurs today for the third time in 12 days, with Guardiola’s side needing a win to climb back above title rivals Liverpool to the Premier League summit. Guardiola revealed his pride at the way his players fought, but conceded he has no idea whether the emotional toll of crashing out of Europe will have an adverse effect on their domestic hopes.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Before the game, you don’t know how you will play, you never know how you’ll react. We were out other times and we reacted well. But really, I don’t know.
“We’re so sad, we had an incredible dream to go through.
“We’re human beings. We have to live with it and we have to compete with feeling. I feel really emotional and really proud for playing like we did in both games, especially the second game – no surrender, go until the end. If you believe it doesn’t hurt, or we forget it, I’d say no. I want my players to know what they did on Wednesday. It will take time, and we have to live with that feeling.
“What we lived was incredible, we were lucky to live it. More than 55,000 people happy... then devastated in a second.
“It will remain in our hearts because in the future the performance we did was incredible at this level. Tomorrow I want to see the same from my players – even when we’re hurt, in tough moments, that’s why we are professionals.”
City’s anguish started when Turkish ref Cuneyt Cakir (left) went off to consult VAR before awarding the decisive goal to Fernando Llorente – despite a suspicion of handball.
“We concede a lot but we score a lot,” said the City boss.
“Of course we have to improve, but the way we play, we’ve scored 154 goals this season, it’s good for everyone here and around the world. We’re not going to change.
“It’s not enough to go through, I’m sorry guys, but next season we’re going to try again and always, in good moments and bad, we’re honest in the way we want to play.
“VAR is f ***** g boring, talking about it. Sometimes it helps you, sometimes not.” Sterling’s 93rd-minute goal was disallowed by VAR, with Guardiola admitting the pain is still raw for the champions.
“If you believe that Wednesday’s result doesn’t hurt or that we can just forget it, I will say no,” said Guardiola.
“What we lived, in terms of emotions, was incredible. Thousands of people enjoyed a moment – and then everybody was devastated.
“People cannot expect that it’s over. It will remain in our hearts. It’s a pity, but the performance was incredible. I don’t want to see my players saying it doesn’t matter. I want to see them react to the hurt.”