The Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated his desire to create “something truly historic” before to the Champions League debut.
Manager Pep Guardiola wants his squad to defend the Champions League crown this season after finishing Manchester City’s prolonged quest for the championship. He stated his goals before their first game against Crvena Zvezda, a Serbian team that was originally Red Star Belgrade, saying, “I’d want to stress that for our club to win the Champions League is wonderful. But how many teams have actually won the Champions League once? Many people have won 2, 3, 4, and 5. In the grand scheme of things, we did nothing exceptional. only one. But we’re proud of the fact that we didn’t have it.
He claimed that keeping the trophy is simpler than winning it for the first time. “It’s simpler. The first one is the most challenging to win. For us, it is unprecedented in history, yet it only happens once. Let’s leave. Let’s attempt to win tomorrow against a front-running squad that is so aggressive,” he remarked.
Only eight managers, though, have done so effectively. Guardiola is not one of them, despite having won twice with Barcelona over the course of three seasons. It sounded like a regret that he wanted to get rid of. “At least try, the competition presents us with a new challenge. They repeated it consecutively, just like Madrid or during the Sacchi era with Milan. Although we didn’t win it back-to-back, I was tremendously happy to have led Barcelona to two victories in four years [as coach, in 2009 and 2011]. Let’s try being authentic, he suggested.
He does not, however, plan too far in advance. “Go for the win in the final 16 after the group stage. When we lost, we didn’t alter. Depending on how we perform and how far we reach, nothing more than Red Star. We’re overjoyed to defend this throne. You cannot drop out of this competition. Tomorrow is the first step, we’ve always been strong at home,” he remarked.
After five victories in as many games in the Premier League, he also cautioned against his squad getting complacent. “It’s crucial that the athletes don’t feel at ease. In response to a statement made by Ferran Soriano, City’s chief executive remarked last week that “people are relaxed” at the club. If the board are relaxed, good, they don’t score goals.
“I wouldn’t be here if I wanted to live for the memories. Either at home or on a beach, I guess. Three days after playing Sevilla in the Super Cup, we played Newcastle. Not the best scenario. It is what it is, and this is a struggle. Go ahead,” he said.
He was pleased with the “anger” displayed by his players following their victory over a stubborn West Ham United. “The management can post motivational videos on TikTok, but they are ineffective. Every player needs to be affected by it, he added. “I knew at halftime I should talk to the players because they were upset; it belongs to them. “Why are you upset? You’re losing 1-0 but playing well,” I asked. Be forthright and strategic, and you’d be up 3-1. They have an excellent mentality, so we push them to never give up, he continued.
They have been so merciless in the league that, in addition to the exits of the seasoned Ilkay Gundagon and Riyad Mahrez, they have barely felt the injury-enforced absence of talisman Kevin de Bruyne. The injured Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish, and John Stones all questionable for this game. However, it wouldn’t bother the team all that much because of the intimidating depth on the bench. They might set up in a 4-2-3-1 configuration, with Rodri serving as the league’s top pivot and Bernardo Silva acting as a deep-lying playmaker. In order to create opportunities for the irrepressible Erling Haaland, who has already scored seven goals in five games this season, the duo would work behind a super-slick and speedy three of Doku, Julian Alvarez, and Phil Foden.
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