Manchester City endured a frustrating evening in Germany on Wednesday following their one-all draw against Leipzig in their first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
The Premier League defending Champions who competed in the finals of this competition in 2021 against Chelsea scored first through Riyad Mahrez, but a header from Josko Gvardiol ensured the Citizens returned to England with just a point.
Criticisms for Guardiola and his team followed after that tie, and now the Spaniard who won two Champions League trophies with Barcelona has come out to tell people to cut him some slack saying it is no longer easy to win the Big Ears.
According to SkySports, Guardiola said;
“This is the Champions League, big clubs are in the Europa League right now. It’s so demanding now, before it was quite easy, but today all the teams are really strong and well prepared with good managers.
“My expectations are not high. I didn’t come here thinking we’d win 0-4, not for one second I thought about that. The game we played needed control. It’s two legs over 180 minutes and I don’t want to lose 4-3 here. So, the game will be open in Manchester. It is what it is.”
Six times he’s so far failed with Man City and thrice he did with Bayern, all those three times falling in the semifinal stage.
2021 was the first time Guardiola took his team to a final since his triumph in the 2010/11 season.
He will be hoping to achieve the same this season and hope for a step further by winning it. Man City will host Leipzig on 14 March in this fixture’s return leg.
