Pep Guardiola commits Man City for next season after Real Madrid defeat – ‘I know’
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has spoken about what he thinks will happen next season after yet another Champions League defeat.
Pep Guardiola is confident Manchester City will be better next season after they failed to make the Champions League quarter-finals for the second consecutive year. But the manager is yet to confirm whether he will be in charge to oversee the game’s improvement, with claims he will not see out the final year of his contract.
City qualified directly for the last 16 this season as a result of their Champions League first-leg top-eight finish, a marked improvement on last term when they reached the play-offs and were well beaten by Real Madrid. However, they missed chances in both legs of this year’s tie with their Spanish nemesis as they crashed out with a 5-1 aggregate defeat.
3-0 down before the first leg, the Blues took the game to Real early on at the Etihad but effectively conceded the tie after 20 minutes when Bernardo Silva was sent off for handling Vinicius Junior’s shot in the box and the Brazilian converted the penalty he was awarded. Erling Haaland got City level on the night but couldn’t score more and Vinicius netted again in injury time to make it a home-and-away defeat for Guardiola’s side.
The city manager was still proud of his team in their defeat, feeling they were much closer than the scoreline. And while he knows they are not as complete a team as previous City sides he has led, Guardiola believes they will improve next year.
Last season, I felt that next season would be better, and it has turned out that way. I have a feeling that (again) it will be better,” he said. “The fact that I’m saying today after losing 5-1 on aggregate doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but that’s my feeling because I know them; I know what their quality is but the seasons are very long and the balance of the team – of course, there are many things to improve but eventually, they are proud.
“Of course it’s not easy, 70 against 11 against Real Madrid, 10 in 75 minutes. How many shots did we try at the end with Ryan, Jeremy, and Erling? Everybody contributed, Khushanov; everybody was there. Listen, when we’re out (of the Champions League) and our position is complete, our position in the league is still not complete; we’re not the premier team (denial).
“I’ve been at Manchester City when we were a team in all the different aspects that define a team, and we’re still not, but in that sense we’ve got the final on Sunday, we’ve got the FA Cup here against Liverpool, the Premier League is still to fight for and finish the Premier League well. Get ready for good decisions next season and what we’ll do in the league.
However, when asked if he intended to stay at City next season, as he spoke of collective improvement, Guardiola backtracked, saying he would always discuss the team in plural whether he was in charge or not because he was with the club.
“When I retire in 10 years, and City are in the Champions League, I’ll say I’ll be back, because I’m part of it,” he said. “Like Barcelona and Bayern Munich, I’ve been a part of it when I’ve been there. I feel a strong connection to this club and organization after a decade, and when I say we’re a part of it, I mean it.
The set is unique
The Carabao Cup final will take place this March at London’s Wembley Stadium with Arsenal v Manchester City.
