Guardiola: Man City could ‘very well have been eliminated’

Pep Guardiola was unhappy with his team’s performance, despite Manchester City’s progression past Atletico Madrid to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.

Following their 1-0 victory in the first leg, City advanced to level with Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday but have been growing backward as the second leg continues.

There was a sense in which Athletes would be the team that would get the top gear in the second half, and if it were not for the desperate City to be able to defend once pinned in their own half, the draw would not have lasted much longer.

Guardiola conceded that City were lucky enough to move forward against Atleti’s well-prepared Atletti team by Diego Simeone, especially as negotiations intensified.

“They played very well [Atletico], they put us in our squad and there was no way out. We forgot how we played,” Guardiola told Movistar + after the game. “We are celebrating but we were not out. Atletico played well in the second half.

“Today we could have been knocked out of the tournament by chance, they were very good and if they pushed it would be very difficult, we resisted but it could have fallen otherwise.

“The side coaches, in the air, the players didn’t listen to us, they were just trying to control the ball but we didn’t control the ball and if you don’t control the ball they can use it. very good. ”

Guardiola’s side never really clashed on Wednesday, even after Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden changed positions to give City a big presence in the middle of the pitch.

When the popularity of Rodrigo de Paul and Angel Correa took hold of Atletti, there was an effect and consequence of their domination among the places of punishment.

In terms of performance, City will now be without Joao Cancelo when they face Real Madrid in the semi-finals, with Kyle Walker and Kevin de Bruyne out injured.

The 51-year-old coach understands, however, simplicity is a luxury in this category of competition.

“The only thing missing is the complexity,” he said. “King of the tournament. It is the third semi final in our history in the Champions League.

“We have repeated last year and it has been a success for us. If we play like we did in the second half on the other side, we will not have a choice. We will try to improve our level.”