After their 2-1 first leg victory away to Paris Saint-Germain, the Premier League leaders are close to a first-ever final in the competition
Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City must not miss the opportunity to make history with a first-ever Champions League final in touching distance.
City lead 2-1 against Paris Saint-Germain ahead of their huge second leg clash at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Guardiola, who has won the trophy twice with Barcelona, insists the tie is far from over but says his team must play with the same confidence that they have shown all season.
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What’s been said?
“We don’t want to miss this opportunity, by not being ourselves and doing a good game, I have the feeling we are going to do well,” Guardiola told his news conference.
Asked how his players can control their emotions, he added: “They have to understand that this will be a big battle, a tough game with moments to suffer, but I’m pretty sure we are going to react well and impose ourselves.
“They have to visualise they can do it. What we have to do is no different to what they’ve done in last seven months, go out there, play our game and win.
“We are not going to demand anything special. We’ve had tough, tough games in the Premier League – the same level as PSG.”
The bigger picture
City’s advantage has been built on a strong second-half performance in the first leg at Parc des Princes. After trailing 1-0 at half-time, Guardiola’s side controlled the second half and got their rewards with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
Guardfiola is expecting the French champions, who have already won away to Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Europe this season, to be an equally tough prospect at Etihad Stadium.
“I don’t expect for one second we’re going to play 90 minutes like that second half [in Paris]. How quick we play where we want to play, that will be important,” Guardiola added,
“After that it belongs to the players, the desire to do something nice for all of us in our lives and to be remembered forever, they have to make a step forward and individually help the team to win the game – we are going to do it.
“From my experience, semi finals are always difficult, you play with the result of the first leg, thinking of the final, you can forget what you have to do, which is win the game you are playing.”
Further reading:
- Sterling backed to shine at Euros despite Man City form
- Mbappe in PSG squad to face Man City after injury
- Neymar: I will die on the pitch to beat Man City
