Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are inching closer to becoming a force in the Champions League – but is still agonising over the shock defeat by Lyon.
The City manager admitted that the disappointing 3-1 quarter-final reverse in August continues to linger ahead of this season’s opener against Porto on Tuesday.
Guardiola has yet to take this team beyond the last eight in the competition and, although the fallout of the Lyon game remains a sore point, he talked up their chances this season.
‘Lyon was a tough moment, I felt so responsible,’ Guardiola said. ‘Everyone fought to achieve it and I still feel so responsible.
‘We have to accept the reality that we weren’t good enough. Everyone has to dream with high expectations.
‘We have to accept it with humility. Accepting is the best way to improve. I felt so bad for the players. It’s a new chance now, a new opportunity.
‘I have the feeling that we’re close. Every season when we analyse when we went out, we are close.
‘When you review the games, even Liverpool and Tottenham, I always had the feeling that we are close. None of them were better than us.
‘There are little gaps. We have to solve it. If you don’t solve it, you don’t deserve it.’
Guardiola is set to be without Kevin De Bruyne, Aymeric Laporte, Gabriel Jesus and Benjamin Mendy again through injury. City appear to ready to go as near to full strength as possible against Porto.
‘When you play the first game away, it’s not as important as the first at home,’ Guardiola said.
‘We have to get the three points tomorrow. Ruben (Dias) explained really well what Porto are as a team. We have to try to continue the good things we have done and be more consistent.’
Dias has impressed since joining from Porto’s rivals, Benfica, for £62million last month, and Guardiola praised his leadership qualities following Saturday’s victory over Arsenal.
‘I’ve always considered that in a team very single player need to lead himself,’ Dias said. ‘There is always a leader of the group but first of all he needs to lead himself.
‘I’ve worked my entire life to discipline myself, to know what I want, to work where I want to be. Everything else comes naturally with my personality. I’ll stay the way I am.’
Source: m.allfootballapp.com