Man City stars may defy Guardiola over clear Champions League belief

CommentsSportSimon Bajkowski Chief Manchester City Writer19:15, 10 Mar 2026Pep Guardiola believes that Champions League success has to be earned. Be it Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester City, he thinks that blood, sweat, and tears are the backbone of any team that wants to 'grow up' and win the competition.

After several years of playing well but finding new heart-breaking ways to lose, 2023 in Istanbul was when City dragged themselves over the line in Istanbul despite not playing well in the final against Inter. Against Real Madrid in the next fortnight, he wants his City team to 'deserve' to go through because they have stood up and been themselves on the big stage - even though most of those players have moved on.

"Play better than the opponent," he said. "There are a lot of factors. Today, set-pieces are an incredible weapon, especially in the Premier League. But play better than the opponent. Sometimes you don't play much and go through but I always try to say okay.

"And it's not easy because my feeling here from when I was Barcelona manager, I never felt at Bayern Munich and Man City that we were who we were supposed to be. That was always my feeling. At Anfield with Jurgen (Klopp) playing in the Champions League.

"Try to be ourselves. Try to face the opponent and don't look much of the consequences. If we are out, congratulate Madrid, but at least if you are who you are. That is always my concern in the biggest stages in March and April. Sometimes it is not possible because the opponent is clear or you cannot impose what you want but at least try it.

"It is difficult to arrive in the first year and win it, but in that team they suffered experiences and experiences in the past that helps to grow up. Losing here in the last minutes or being out against Tottenham [in 2019], many times when we were outstanding and out is something you have to live. But now we have lots of players who didn't play that and we have to see how we react."

The reactions so far have been as impressive as they have surprising. This young City team may be inconsistent, taking just one point from six against Tottenham this season and dropping points at home to Chelsea, Brighton and Nottingham Forest in the calendar year.

Yet they are still in the running for four trophies in the middle of March, and have already won at the Bernabeu and Anfield this season as well as being minutes away from beating Arsenal at the Emirates and winning four of their five meetings with Newcastle. Even if they have not always quite been themselves, they have found a way to win.

That will not likely be enough to win them the Champions League - Guardiola certainly doesn't think so - but it has already got them this far. If they can stand up again in the Bernabeu to be counted, City's players will be on their way to proving their manager wrong about what it takes to win the competition.

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