Pep Guardiola makes Manchester City Champions League admission
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that their Champions League clash with RB Leipzig on Tuesday will help to shape his legacy at the club.
Guardiola has delivered nine trophies in six and a half years in Manchester but success in Europe’s top competition has eluded them, despite reaching the final in 2021.
The Spaniard concedes that his tenure will be judged on whether he wins the Champions League, and City must overcome Leipzig in the last 16 to sustain hope of doing so this year.
“Yes, that doesn’t mean I agree with that, but absolutely I will be judged for that competition,” Guardiola said.
“Since day one when I arrived here they asked me ‘are you here to win the Champions League?’. I accept it. It’s not going to change.”
City need to beat Leipzig in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium, having drawn the first match in Germany 1-1 last month.
Not since his first season in charge, when City lost on away goals to a Monaco side featuring Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva, have they failed to reach at least the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
But they are accustomed to having a first-leg cushion. Only twice have they not gone into the second leg without a lead, against Liverpool in 2018 and Tottenham Hotspur the following year, and on both occasions they crashed out.
Leipzig, meanwhile, have recovered from a difficult start to the season which saw Marco Rose replace Domenico Tedesco as coach.
They beat Real Madrid to finish second in Group B behind the holders and have mounted a challenge for the Bundesliga, in which they currently sit third.
“Every team at this stage has a lot of qualities and many strengths. Tomorrow we have to impose our game and do what we have to do,” added Guardiola.
“We have to win the game, so it is easy. It is not about how many goals we have to score, it is just to win the game. That is what we have to do.”
City face a fight to retain their Premier League crown, with leaders Arsenal five points ahead, but remain in the FA Cup and in contention for a possible treble.
“It is really important,” said Guardiola. “For the fact to be alive for the last two months of the season, to extend this chance to be there in the competitions, to have the pleasure to be still in Europe, or in the Premier League to try to be close to Arsenal. That would be good.”