Pep Guardiola: 'Manchester City will qualify from group phase'

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has tipped Manchester City to make it through the group phase of the Champions League despite watching his team defeat them 3-1 on Wednesday evening.

The Premier League side now face a scrap for second place in Group D, but the Spaniard believes that they will qualify for the next round.

"I said it yesterday and nothing changed my mind," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying. "They are going to qualify and will be a tough opponent for the next round, but I can only talk about my team and what they did.

"I am respectful when you play against Manchester City with these unbelievable players. We played better, we won, but the football is special. I am lucky to be here to train these players.

"It is nice for the team to come to this country, where they love football so much, and play like we did today."

Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben were on target for Bayern, with Alvaro Negredo netting City's reply.