Man City Under Pressure To Qualify For Champions League – Guardiola
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has admitted that the club is under pressure to secure Champions League qualification as the Premier League season enters crucial stage.
The defending champions have endured a poor season, failing to mount a serious defense of the title they have won for the last four years.
The Citizens have won the Premier League title six times in the last seven years, but they are currently fourth in the table, a single point behind Saturday’s opponents Nottingham Forest.
Man City have been a regular participant in the Champions League since 2011/12, lifting the trophy for the first time in 2023.
Guardiola admitted the pressure for battling for a Champions League place after fighting for the Premier League title for years.
He said: “The pressure is always there, In the big clubs the pressure is always there. You have to press yourself to do your best. It doesn’t matter what you are playing for.
“The reality is to try to finish in the top four and tomorrow (Saturday) we have an opportunity to go third in the table and climb and secure this target.
Man City will take on highflyers Nottingham Forest, who are currently in third place on the log, Guardiola is wary of their threat.
He said: “When you are third in the table after eight, 10 fixtures, OK,” he said. “But when you are there with 11 games left, still you are third, it’s because you have done really, really, really well.
“Otherwise you cannot be there for many, many times, many months, doing good things and being third in the table. Impressive, I would say.”
Just six points separate Forest in third spot from Aston Villa in 10th, setting up a tight finish to the season.
Guardiola continued: “There are many clubs, many teams fighting for this target. Everyone wants to be in the Champions League next season.
“For the club, for the prestige, for our sustainability, economically, for many reasons.”
“It will not be the end of the world (if we don’t qualify),” he said. “We want to qualify for the Champions League but if it doesn’t happen it’s because we haven’t been good enough and the other teams deserve it.
“[They are] really compact and aggressive on transitions.
“The four upfront are really good and create many things. Hudson-Odoi, Elanga, Wood, Gibbs-White exceptional players, good keeper, experienced defenders.
“Full-backs can play both sides. The physical team in the middle, Anderson is a top player as well.
“That’s why they are third. Otherwise could not be there when you are playing the last part of the season.
The top four in the Premier League are guaranteed to enter next year’s Champions League, with a potential for fifth in the division to also make it depending on where England ranks in UEFA’s coefficient system.
Man City Under Pressure To Qualify For Champions League – Guardiola is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
