Guardiola on Manchester City's champions league exit after Madrid defeat

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Guardiola on Manchester City's champions league exit after Madrid defeat   19/02/2025  uefa24

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00:00Hi Pep. First of all, can you tell us a bit about Haaland's injury and also what was the

00:11game plan, what was your intention to get from the game without being able to use Erling?

00:21The game plan was extend the game plan. Erling yesterday tried to training for the last action

00:26against Newcastle, the last minutes. Apparently with the images we have done it's fine, but

00:34it was discomfort walking and when, for example, with the stirs and we spoke yesterday, this

00:42morning I said I'm not ready, I don't feel good, I'm not ready. So, but that's happened

00:46and we tried the plan, it was extend the result that we brought from Manchester as long as

00:53possible and of course we conceded the goal so early, the injury from John and a little

00:59bit what happened this season and we could not defend well, the movement that here we

01:05had Mbappé, you know, from being stopped and attacking the space, we didn't defend and

01:12it was a bit more difficult. So, but the best team won, they deserve it. We make, obviously

01:19we have done a good group of stages in Champions League seasons, arriving in finals and winning

01:25and losing, but semi-finals, quarter-finals, we behaved really well, but this season in

01:31all competitions we have not been good and I have the feeling that the previous seasons,

01:36the fourth time we were better than them in the previous three, but this time they have

01:40been better and learn. This is the benchmark in this competition, that team, the physicality

01:49is a team, I have my feeling that when we play against them, every season I've been

01:52better, but this season is better than, because they can run like always I've done with the

01:57pillows up front, but they can make long positions when they make high pressing, his dynamic and

02:04movement when we defend deep, solidarity, defend really well. So, yeah, they deserve

02:10it. It's learn and what you have to do is accept it and move forward.

02:17Hi Pep, just sort of wondering about your own emotions, how you're feeling to be knocked

02:23out of Europe now and you sort of, you touched on it a bit, but how you reflect on the campaign

02:29as a whole because the group was difficult even before this game, I mean, where do you

02:34feel it's all gone wrong?

02:35No, I feel I'm, it's okay, accept the reality, they were better. So, at football you can

02:42compete sometimes when the previous season, when we were out playing outstanding, there

02:46was a bit, it hurts more, I would say that, for example, today. So, I was born and always

02:54I ask for my teams or for football, it's difficult to say, oh, alas, the team who deserve should

03:01win all the time. And football is unpredictable, it's not the only sports that cannot happen,

03:05that time happened, in the past didn't happen. So, it's accepted and it's a reality, reflect

03:13how is our team, in good things we do because in teams, in games like, for example, Newcastle

03:20that the physicality they have is extraordinary, everybody knows how Newcastle, good team they

03:24are, we are able to control them and do it and this is what I wanted, don't let them

03:28run much, have a long positions and the moment we can punish them, it happened maybe, of

03:33course, it was at the end of the game, they were not much focused, it was 5, 10, 15 minutes

03:38in the game, but we have more a long position, but we didn't threat much, they defend really

03:43deep and the middle block really well, in the duels they are fantastic, with and without

03:48the ball and when that's happened, it's just accepted.

03:54With the defeat, the manner of the defeat and how good you said Real Madrid are and

04:01were, can this Manchester City team, does it need to be rebuilt or can these players

04:09build together and get better?

04:11We have time, we have time to think about it, now it's easy to say it, but after that

04:16it's not the point, so it was a game like again, 2-3 and at home it was hard to swallow,

04:24to win the result here is not easy, but even with good result I know how they are able,

04:28they are good, and with time the team, the club and everyone is going to accept what

04:38it is, but now we have 30, 40 games for the Premier League to try to next season to be

04:42here and to improve, so nothing is eternal, so we have been unbelievable and we have to

04:54try step by step to get better from today.

04:58Is that the goal now, qualification for the Champions League, that's your goal now?

05:02Absolutely, so we cannot win the Premier League and Efe Haka of course is there, but we are

05:08in the Champions League, now we have 30 games and we have to be top 4, top 5, I don't know

05:12what will be there to try to be here again, yeah of course.

05:17Pep, you've had to do this already on a number of occasions, but how do you lift this group,

05:25you talked there about the Premier League, qualifying for the Champions League, because

05:29obviously you have a massive game coming up at the weekend against the team that's the

05:33top of the table.

05:34No, now it's the Champions League competition that is nice, but we have not been good, not

05:41just today, all the competition, so the problems we have, I was not able to find the stability

05:48to bring the games along, it happened many times in the Premier League, today the game,

05:52so we want to try to defend, I was expecting in the first minutes Madrid to be more aggressive,

05:59the first action they were there, and try to extend the game a bit longer than it happened,

06:07it's not easy after five minutes and after second goals early it's not easy to get back.

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