‘Told them it was over’

Boss Pep Guardiola reveals half-time talk was about reminding Team Man City that they could be out of race before amazing 3-1 victory over Club Brugge

Pep Guardiola unleashed a kick that  knocked over a drinks cooler in a moment of unbridled relief as Manchester City avoided an early exit from the Champions League on Wednesday. The City manager could not contain his emotions on a night of high drama at the Etihad Stadium as his team came back from the brink of elimination when 1-0 down to Club Brugge at half-time. A 3-1 win secured the lifeline of a playoff against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

“I told them it was over, that we are out,” Guardiola admitted afterward when revealing his half-time team talk. But he also came up with the words to inspire a fightback. “In the second half, we lift our soul and our hearts were free. Today we are in the next round, that’s good,” he added. In a must-win game for the 2023 champions, City fell behind just before half-time, but victory meant they finished 22nd in the 36-team standings to secure a two-legged playoff to advance to the Round of 16.

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An animated Pep Guardiola on the touchline at Wednesday’s UCL game. Pic/Getty Images

Guardiola appeared to live every moment on the sideline, being shown a yellow card for his over-exuberance at one point and switching from ball-boy to cheerleader at various other times. His nerves were clear to see as he fidgeted and gesticulated from the touchline, holding his head in his hands at times and at others waving his arms in the air in an attempt to hype up the home crowd.

Guardiola’s kick of relief

When Brugge’s Joel Ordonez turned the ball into his own net in the 62nd minute, Guardiola let it all out, launching a boot at the drinks cooler as he celebrated. It was all in contrast to the dejection on his face as he slumped in his seat when Raphael Onyedika had fired Brugge in front. City were always the favourites to beat Brugge. But in a season where Guardiola’s team picked up only one victory in 13 games from October to December, including nine losses, nothing could be taken for granted.

And when Brugge went ahead, a stunned Etihad must have feared the worst. But a night that began with a fire erupting from a merchandise stall outside the stadium ended in  celebration. With Madrid or Bayern to come, Guardiola was honest about whether he thought City could go all the way to win the trophy for a second time. “Right now, no. I’m so pragmatic, the reality is the reality.  Madrid is back in terms of results, and Bayern played an incredible season so far with [coach] Kompany,” he said.

PSG scrape into knockouts

Elsewhere, PSG, who were facing a do-or-die game of their own, eased to a 4-1 victory on the back of Ousmane Dembele’s hat-trick. PSG coach Luis Enrique on Wednesday praised his side for making the Champions League knockout stages despite having the “worst draw of the 36 teams involved”. They faced the likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City in the group stage of this year’s revamped competition. Meanwhile, City’s premier league rivals Arsenal saw off Girona despite falling behind in the first half. The London club, who went into the game making bulk changes to the starting line-up, eventually won 2-1 thanks to goals from Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri.

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