Izuchukwu Okosi
Despite the convincing win of his glory seeking team, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was not overly satisfied with the 5-0 victory against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of the round of 16 meeting.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Spaniard spoke with Skysports and insists he will not hide under the victory but demands improvement from his side.
“We defended well and got an incredible result,” Guardiola began.
We have a duty to look at the performance too, even if the result is a dream,” Guardiola who has won the tournament with Barcelona and Bayern Munich but still not able to accomplish same at City admitted.
“The performance could have been better. The difference between the two teams is not 0-5, but we were just so clinical.”
City were unbeaten on their way to last season’s final before being defeated by Chelsea in Porto, and Guardiola has not forgotten the negative response to last May’s result.
“If we do go through to the quarter-finals, who knows what will happen. Last season we made a perfect Champions League season, then we lost the final. Then we are seen as a failure. I will not hide behind a 5-0 win, there is a long way to go.”
Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva has received praise from his boss for his Champions League display.
The Portuguese scored a brace in the game to help is side with a perfect victory in the Champions League first leg albeit he had a goal chalked off for offside by VAR.
Describing Silva’s performance, Pep Guardiola has called him a perfect player who is exceptional with the ball.
“I always tell him ‘you are the perfect player’,” Guardiola said.
“With the ball, he is more than exceptional, but I always say to him you have to go and win games, you have to have the ability to do it. He has the technique, everything.
“This was his hometown, and he loves coming back here. Of course, he is a former Benfica player, so this was special for him tonight.”
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
