The Manchester City coach knows that on paper Lyon is the easiest draw he could have won in the Champions League quarter-finals • But he has enough reasons to be careful this time
Guardiola. Will do anything to win the Champions League
Photo:
IP
No one is as smart as someone who has experience, even if he has the means and battery of stars. Ask Pep Guardiola to stand up tomorrow night (22:00) for an important task in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which raises quite a few concerns - and rightly so.
The Catalan coach meets with the billionaires of Manchester City the humble Lyon, who surprised Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo in the quarterfinals. The English vice-champion will do everything so that the French do not surprise him as well, because for him it is much more than just another game on the way to the prestigious title, but a point where he must not fall.
Guardiola has two Champions League trophies as a coach. He swung them both with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. This is also the reason why after a year of break from coaching, he was signed by Bayern Munich, then the European champions, who wanted to keep the title. Unfortunately, in three seasons in Bavaria he failed in this task.
Although he won three championships (and two doubles) at Bayern, the fall in the Champions League weighs on him. So when he moved to Manchester City, he knew that alongside the Premier League championship, which he had won twice, he must also lift the trophy with the big ears. He wants to prove, not only to himself, that he can do it outside Barcelona as well.
For this reason he warns his players of complacency. He reminds everyone that last season City met Lyon in the home leg and could not do it twice. Lyon beat Etihad 1: 2 and in France it ended 2: 2. This time it is already a knockout stage and in Lisbon there will be only one game, so the opportunity to fix will not come.
Guardiola will miss the injured Sergio Aguero tomorrow, but will get defender Benjamin Mandy back from suspension. On the other hand, Musa Dembele may return to Lyon's squad, where the place of the young Maxens Kakra is guaranteed.