Pep Guardiola claims winning with Man City means more than at his former clubs
Pep Guardiola has claimed it means more to him to win at Manchester City than at his previous clubs because they have fought football's traditional hierarchy.
Guardiola watched his team ultimately cruise to a 4-1 Champions League group stage win over Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium to put one foot in the knockout round with two games left to play.
They were aided by PSG dropping points against RB Leipzig, which allowed City to go top of the group.
But despite the favourable result in Germany, Guardiola insisted there are no favours, implying that his club in particular don’t get any easy rides at all because of recent success.
“What we have done [in] these years, I promise you, nobody helps you – no one. Everything we have done, we have done it, and that is why I’m so satisfied,” the City boss told BT Sport.
When pressed, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach even suggested it is more special to win at City because his past clubs have been part of the established elite.
“When you are at big clubs, I understand, maybe…But here, no. What we win, we do it [ourselves].
“I know it, perfectly. That’s why all the titles I have won before, I won at big clubs.
“Absolutely…the pleasure is [more], fighting to beat the hierarchy in the Premier League.”
"I promise you, when you are at Manchester City you realise, nobody helps you."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 3, 2021
No favours from Leipzig or any other side, Pep Guardiola takes great satisfaction from every City win, especially in Europe.
? @msmith850 #UCL pic.twitter.com/nxP3aTfJB8
City improved significantly as the game against Brugge progressed. They had dominated the ball throughout the first half but lacked enough of a cutting edge to make the possession count, while also looking passive and off the pace at the back.
But Guardiola insisted his team couldn’t have played better in the opening 20 minutes.
“I don’t know if we can play better than the first 20 minutes, honestly,” he said. “It was really good, the transitions, the aggressiveness. After the [Brugge] goal, the minds of the players said, ‘we are doing everything and the one time they [get a chance], they score a goal’. Yeah, but that’s life, no?
“Life is like this, how you overcome that position. Even our fans said ‘Aw, we’ve conceded a goal’. Yeah, but we try again. We still had 70 minutes to do it. Just doing what we have done, it’s enough.”
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