'We’re not ready to fight for the Champions League': Pep Guardiola concerned by sloppy Man City despite comeback against Schalke
Pep Guardiola has once again claimed his side are not ready to win the Champions League after they made hard work of beating a poor Schalke side.
Despite coming back from 2-1 down to win the first leg of their Round of 16 tie, City were sloppy in defence and poor for long periods of the game, needing late goals from substitute Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling to transform their night.
Guardiola refused to be critical of his players and praised the result and the manner in which it was achieved, but he still could not help but cast doubt on their long term goal of becoming European champions.
“We gave away the goals and the red card,” said Guardiola. “We’re not ready to fight for the Champions League, but the result is good.
“I know how difficult it is to play in Germany. They didn’t have a shot on target and scored twice. If they’d scored a third or fourth, then maybe we’re out. Hopefully or fans can help us for the second leg.
“To go away from home and score three goals, and the way we reacted at 10 men, we played incredibly well. I’m delighted but it’s not enough [to win the competition].
“We gifted the goals. If that happens in another stage… We are a nice team to watch, but we don’t know how far we’ll get.
“We’re scoring an incredible amount of goals. Schalke were unbeaten. I know as a manager and player, coming here is difficult. They didn’t do too much, but we gave them opportunities to score two goals.”
Guardiola has always tended to play down City’s chances of winning the Champions League, even though they are the bookmaker’s favourites and have gained plenty of experience in the competition over the last decade.
“You have to live these situations in this competition to improve,” he added. “Basle was fake last year, when we won 4-0, that is not the reality. Maybe we won’t realise what you need to do to win the games in these competitions.
“Maybe what happened here, it’ll help us. We would have been depressed if we lost, but the result is incredible. Give me this result before and where do I sign?
“Every stage is more difficult. I remember at Bayern, winning these kind of games means a lot. We cannot do it without the fans. To get to the quarters is still open. We need their support in three weeks. They can come and support us like they did against Liverpool. We need it.”
