Manchester, England – Pep Guardiola said he was convinced Manchester City will beat Club brugge And reserve their place in the direct elimination towers of the Champions League.
On Wednesday, the Guardiola team must win at the Etihad stadium to obtain a place in the top 24 of the league phase table. Nothing less than victory will see that City will not reach KO for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
“I appreciate your concern if we do not qualify, but I think we are going to do it,” said Guardiola at a new conference on Tuesday.
“The situation we have is that we have to win the match and otherwise we will not continue in this competition.
“We want to go there to have another chance of playing two other games to have the chance of the next steps. It is not a problem, it is an opportunity. »»
City won only two of his seven championship phase games and sit outside the Top 24. Finish between the 9th and the 24th will win two -legged playoffs for a place in the round of 16.
The Brugge club is one of the only two teams for the last games that could mathematically make the top eight, find yourself in the eliminations qualifiers or be eliminated. They are 20th in the table after winning Aston Villa and a sports CP and a home print with Juventus The day of the door.
“I have been here for many years in the Champions League and these types of matches that I have played several times,” said Guardiola.
“Sooner or later you have to play them where if you win, you go and if you don’t, you get out. We are here for the reasons we know that we have not been good enough and this is a situation that we have lived several times. »»
City undergoes a difficult season for their own standards, but head for the match against club Brugge on the back of an impressive 3-1 victory Chélat in the Premier league SATURDAY.
“This is obviously a final for us,” said the defender Josko Gvardiol said. “We want to qualify for the next step and our confidence is very good, especially after the last match (against Chelsea).
“It’s a good team, there is a reason why they are here in the Champions League and it will not be easy.”