Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that watching the latter stages of the Champions League from home this season is motivating his team to secure qualification for next year’s competition.
City were surprisingly eliminated in the play-off round and missed out on the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in over a decade, a personal first for Guardiola as a manager. However, he has been watching the recent quarter-final action and sees it as a driving force for his team.
“They’ve been good games,” Guardiola said, adding, “It’s a motivation. It’s not a bad thing to fight to qualify for the Champions League. Hopefully next season we can be there with the big clubs in Europe and challenge them better than what we have this season.”
Currently fifth in the Premier League with six games remaining, City are in a tight battle to secure a top-five finish and Champions League qualification for a 15th consecutive season.
Guardiola acknowledged that their performance this season has fallen short of their usual high standards, but he believes they still have control over their destiny.
“We could be in a much lower position in the Premier League,” Guardiola conceded. “OK, we’ve not been good, but it’s in our hands.”
Ahead of their match against Everton, City will still be without key players Erling Haaland, John Stones, Nathan Ake, and Ederson due to injury. However, there is a possibility of Manu Akanji returning after two months, and Phil Foden has recovered from a knock.
