Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City will face a tough character test against Bayern Munich, whose defiance he says is “in their skin.”
Although City leads the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final 3-0, Guardiola claims his team will face a Bayern Munich team that believes it can turn the tie around on Wednesday.
City has appeared to have ties wrapped up before, most recently in last season’s semi-finals, when they led Real Madrid 5-3 on aggregate as stoppage time approached in the second leg, only to be knocked out.
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When asked if he was more confident than ever in his group of players, Guardiola responded on Tuesday: “I would like to say yes, but I don’t know. Every game is completely different.
“I didn’t say to the team to be careful with Bayern Munich, how difficult they are. They are not relaxed because they felt it, they know it, how good the [Bayern] team is.
“The opponent has many, many weapons, and that’s why you have to be yourself. What do you have to do to achieve it? Be ourselves as much as possible.”
Guardiola stated that City were “here for business” and confirmed that Phil Foden would be a substitute when he returned from appendicitis.
The Catalan coach is one win away from becoming the first person to win 100 Champions League games, a feat previously held by Carlo Ancelotti (105) and Alex Ferguson (102).
If he had completed his century on Wednesday, he would have done so in 158 games, compared to Ancelotti’s 180 and Ferguson’s 184.
Guardiola stated that City did not come to Munich to sit on their lead, but rather to dig in defensively as circumstances dictate.
“I don’t understand the situation of coming here just to defend something,” said Guardiola, who coached Bayern from 2013 to 2016.
“We come here to play one football game. If you think about just the result and what you have to do, or what we have done in the past, it would be a big mistake for us.
“We are going to defend, for sure. It happened in Manchester. For part of the game, they were better, and we had to defend, and we’re going to defend tomorrow.
“For us, it’s an opportunity. You see the [Bayern] trophy cabinet and how many times they have played this type of game in their incredible history, it is a lot.
“We are a few. We’re going to try to impose our game. We come here knowing the quality they have, adapt quick to maybe some new formation of the opponent, and do our game.
“We talk about the game we have to play and not talk about the result we had one week ago. It’s what you have to do in the game and focus in every single action to do what you have to do to get the result as best as possible to reach the semi-final.”
Guardiola suspects Thomas Tuchel and Bayern will be saying much the same thing.
“I’ve been here at Bayern Munich and know the mentality of this club,” Guardiola said. “It’s everywhere: it’s in [the club’s HQ at] Sabener Strasse, it’s in their skin.
“I know they believe they can do it, and we believe, too.”
Guardiola expects Bayern’s Thomas Muller to start, having only been a substitute in the first leg.
Should that be the case, City captain Ilkay Gundogan will be among those keeping a close eye on the man who can make Bayern tick, whom he knows well from their time together in Germany’s midfield.
Gundogan’s City future remains in the balance, with his contract expiring at the end of June, and the 32-year-old could offer no guidance on whether he will be staying in Manchester.
“There are talks. Obviously there are talks in the background. That’s quite normal with just a couple of months left,” Gundogan said. “Before going too much into details, there is nothing decided yet, not from my side and not from the club’s side.”
The skipper was delighted to hear Guardiola wants him to stay, saying: “I appreciate it a lot. We’ve been together seven years, and it’s been amazing. We’ve won a lot together and to hear things like that brings me joy, brings me a smile and makes me appreciate what I’ve done in the seven years.”