MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 13:47:18| >> :120:3873:3873:
[monks data]
Attendance: 54,489
Manchester City logo
Premier League | Gameweek 35
Apr 20, 2019 at 12.30pm UK
 
Spurs logo

1-0

Foden (5')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Guardiola challenges Manchester City to use Champions League exit as motivation

Guardiola challenges Man City to use Champions League exit as motivation
© Reuters
Manchester City were knocked out of the European competition in agonising fashion by Tottenham on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City players to use their Champions League heartache as motivation when they face Tottenham again on Saturday.

City were knocked out of the European competition in agonising fashion by Spurs on Wednesday as what would have been dramatic late Raheem Sterling winner at the Etihad Stadium was ruled out by VAR.

Manager Guardiola accepts such anguish is not something players will be able to shut out of their minds quickly but he feels they can turn it into a positive.

Spurs are again the visitors as City's attention switches to the Premier League title race this weekend.

Guardiola said: "If you believe it doesn't hurt, or we (will) forget it, I would say no, I don't want the players to forget what they lived.

"When people expect now we've forgotten what we lived on Wednesday for tomorrow, that is not the truth. We would not be human beings. It will take time.

"We have to live and play with that feeling. What we lived last Wednesday in terms of emotion and just simple life was incredible. We were fortunate to live it, we were lucky.

"For a few seconds more than 55,000 joined in and were happy in the most exciting moment, then in one second we are all devastated. People cannot expect it to be over, it's impossible. It will remain in our hearts.

"It will be always a pity but the performance we did was incredible, how well we played at this level. We were close at the end.

"This we try to put into our game at 12.30 tomorrow."

City cannot afford any loss of momentum in the Premier League with Liverpool poised to take advantage of any slip-ups. City will retain their crown by winning their remaining five games but the Reds currently top the table by two points having played a game more.

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur – UEFA Champions League – Quarter Final – Second Leg – Etihad Stadium
Manchester City's Raheem Sterling thought he had scored the winning goal against Tottenham in their Champions League clash (Martin Rickett/PA)

The coming few days are critical for City with Saturday's Spurs clash followed by a derby trip to Manchester United next Wednesday.

Guardiola said: "The title race is to win tomorrow at 12.30. What Liverpool do against Cardiff, Newcastle, other teams, I'm not involved. We have three games in a week against Tottenham, United and Burnley and the rest I cannot control."

City's loss to Spurs in midweek ended their chances of winning all four competitions this season.

Asked if he might at least be relieved not to be asked about the quadruple, Guardiola said at a press conference: "No. I would prefer to be in the semi-finals of the Champions League because the quadruple would be closer."

Despite the result, Guardiola was pleased with City's performance against Spurs and believes the team will get their reward in that competition one day. City did still win the quarter-final second leg 4-3 but they went out on away goals.

Guardiola said: "They will get back what they deserve. I don't know it if will be this season, next season or in three or four years.

"One day they will maybe in the same position and they will be more fortunate, luckier or more precise and we are able to go to the next stages.

"We did everything in both games. They were fantastic, the players. We lost but I am so proud."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Andy Hampson, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'ef294ce1-e7a1-4cfa-8cf2-f4c96d91b536');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Guardiola wants to turn Champions League heartache to motivation'});

ID:356735: cacheID:356735:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9011:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring against Manchester City in the Champions League on April 27, 2019
Read Next:
Five talking points ahead of the weekend's Premier League action
>
Read more about Pep Guardiola Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Result
Munar
Borges
7 6
5 4
Result
Navone
Popyrin
7 6
5 2
Result
Vukic
Daniel
2 77 1
6 61 6
Result
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
2 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Davis
Sherif
6 64 4
4 77 6
Result
Putintseva
Yuan
6 6
2 4
Result
Stephens
Trevisan
6 5 6
3 7 4
Result
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
4 3
6 6
Result
Altmaier
Landaluce
6 7
1 5
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
Result
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
4 4
6 6
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
Result
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
7 6
5 2
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
Result
Osaka
Minnen
6 6
4 1
Result
Vekic
Siegemund
6 6
1 2
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool33228375324374
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves33127144653-743
12Fulham34126165054-442
13Bournemouth33119134860-1242
14Crystal Palace3399154256-1436
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton33108153448-1430
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3337233188-5716


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!