The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola was not happy that the Premier League club struggled to defeat Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, April 6.
The German Bundesliga side visited the Premier League club for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final game. Manchester City took an early lead when the club’s attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne scored the opener in the 19th minute.
After the first goal, Manchester City could not do much throughout the remaining minutes of the first half. Due to that, Borussia Dortmund gained more confidence in the second half and they were able to score an equalizing goal in the 84th minute through the boots of Marco Reus.
It took Manchester City until the 90th minute to claim the maximum three points thanks to Phil Foden’s last-minute strike.
Though the 2-1 win means that all Manchester City need to do is to secure a draw or a straight win in the return leg to qualify for the next round, Pep Guardiola said after the game that the weight of expectation on City got the better of the players during the game.
Recall that since Pep Guardiola became the manager of Manchester City, he has never taken the Premier League club beyond the quarter-final stage of the competition. He and the club have been dominating domestic football in England but they are yet to replicate such form in European football.
Pep Guardiola and his boys are on the verge of winning the Premier League title this season as they are sitting comfortably on the top of the league table. Before the game, City’s form has been so perfect that the club recorded 26 wins in their last 27 games in all competitions.
“When you win 26 games in 27 and they are not winning the Bundesliga, the pressure is on our shoulders,” Pep Guardiola said after City’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
“Everything is guaranteed for us. Everybody believed we would win. We had an incredible commitment and desire to go through.
“Now we fly there at 2-1 – always they score but we will adjust a few things we could not do today.
“In a calm way, the best way possible, the game we played and see what we can do better.
“We will go there to win the game. I ask the players to win the game. We did it and now we go to Dortmund not to defend.
“We will adjust our pressing, adjust our build-up and play 90 minutes to try and reach the semi-final.”
While Borussia Dortmund interim coach Edin Terzic said: “Pep had some nice words for me at full-time, but we are not done yet. We will see each other again in eight days. It’s half-time and the tie is still open.
“We will be ready to give it our all to overturn the result and reach the next round. We kept their chances to a minimum and posed a threat ourselves going forward. It was evenly matched so we are disappointed with the result in the end.”
Pep Guardiola and Edin Terzic will face each other again in the return leg of the tie on April 14, 2021. As it stands, Borussia Dortmund need to win 2-0 against City to qualify for the next round of the UEFA Champions League campaign.
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