Pep Guardiola 'more than satisfied' as Manchester City show resolve to beat PSG in Champions League and finish top
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Updated 24/11/2021 at 23:07 GMT
Manchester City made sure they will finish top of Champions League Group A as they came from behind to beat Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad. Kylian Mbappe gave PSG the lead after half-time but goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus saw City turn it around, much to the delight of Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola
Image credit: Eurosport
Pep Guardiola said he was “more than satisfied” after Manchester City beat Paris Saint-Germain to secure top spot in Champions League Group A.
City came from behind to beat PSG at the Etihad thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus.
The result moves City four points ahead of PSG at the top of the group with one match left to play.
"It was a good game,” Guardiola told BT Sport. “The danger is always when they have the ball in the final third it is terrible. But again we did a good performance like the first game.
“Unfortunately, in the first half the chances we had we could not convert. After their goal we suffered a knock-out five or 10 minutes but after that, yeah. We thank our people for coming out and supporting us. It was a lovely night for us.
"Always we try. They fought a lot because they demand a lot of effort defensively because of the quality they have with short passes. We are already qualified but today we did a good game against a top side. We are last five or six years, reaching the last 16, so we are top of the group and I am more than satisfied.”
City dominated the first half without managing to find the breakthrough and were then hit by a goal from Kylian Mbappe after the break.
However, the Premier League champions responded well and grabbed all three points when Bernardo Silva teed up Jesus to score.
Guardiola added: "We attack good in the spaces and the quality from Bernardo…when you talk about the right technique it is that. The right tempo and doing it in the right moment to give your team-mate the best chance to score the goal.
"It is a good lesson. When you are losing you have to continue. We knew a draw was a good result for us, but we won.
"Always I believe with their forwards, the further they are from our goal the safer we are. The closer they are, they find the spaces. Look at the action of Neymar when he missed the shot. They found that from nothing. They are too good up front. We have to defend as a team. I don't know the stats, but I thought we were brilliant today."
PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United, was full of praise for City and their performance.
“I am disappointed, but at the same time, in the first half City played well and they forced us to play deeper. They were aggressive. After 0-0 in the first half, we score and I think we were clam as we were controlling it really well. City changed the game and we concede two goals.
“You have to give credit to Manchester City, they are a very good team.
“The important thing is to qualify. We beat City in Parc des Princes, we lose here. The difference is the draw against Leipzig and why we finish second."
The other game in the group saw Leipzig thrash Club Brugge 5-0 to move level on four points with them in the battle for a Europa League place.
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