Champions League exit would hurt Man City I FULL Pep Guardiola Press Conference

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola speaks to the media ahead of Wednesday’s must win Champions League match against Club Brugge. Pep Guardiola Press Conference (Man City vs Club Brugge) Transcript: For Manchester City, the situation that we have is simple: you have one option—win the game. If not, we will not continue in this competition. And we want to go through to have another chance to play another two games to qualify for the next stages. So, it’s not a problem; it’s an opportunity, a challenge, and we will face it. It’s not personal for me—it’s for the club. Of course, it will not be good if we don’t qualify, but I’m not thinking about that right now. I know for all the people concerned about what’s going to happen if we don’t qualify—I appreciate your concern, and all of you doubting we’ll qualify—but I’m thinking about what we’re going to do. How important is it that the fans are behind you as much as they can be? We’ll be fine. Of course, if we perform well and we are in good rhythm, they will be there, like they were last game against Chelsea. In that game, we felt their support more than ever this season. Even when we are in tough situations, I know the opponent we’re going to face—last year, in their last 21 games, they didn’t lose a game. I saw their game against Juventus and as many of their games as possible. They are incredibly solid and consistent. They don’t concede chances, they are aggressive, and they play really well with the ball. We played against them years ago, and they have made a step up in terms of how aggressive they are, their patterns, and how they play with the ball. We have to perform really well to win the game. Can I ask you about your approach? Would you like to score goals in the first 20 minutes? Well, we like to score goals in the first 20 minutes—a lot, a lot, a lot—but I think it’s not going to happen. The approach now, today, is to read the game. You have to play according to what they do. Today is completely relaxed—no emotion, just understanding the game. And tomorrow, we have to read that. I know in this type of game, you have to put in something special—something that has not been enough so far in the Champions League to win games. The question is simple: if we don’t win, we’ll be out. If we win, we’ll go through. You mentioned needing to do something special—something that you’ve not managed to do so far this season in the Champions League. Is that purely just managing the game? No. I’ve been in the Champions League for many years, since I started my career as a manager. These types of games, I’ve played many times. Sooner or later, you have to play these types of games—games where, if you win, you go through, and if you don’t, you’re out. It happens more often in the later stages, not so much right now. But we are here for a reason—we know that we’ve not been good enough. But in this situation, I’ve lived it many, many times. What I want is for these guys to get through it and show what they’re capable of. More to Watch: Henrik Larsson Dream Team: