Manchester City are amongst the favourites to win this season’s Champions League
City already look in good shape to defend their Premier League crown, their 5-0 win over Burnley keeping them top of the league (albeit on goal difference). Though many have backed them to follow domestic success with their first Champions League title this season, manager Pep Guardiola says he does not believe the club are ready to win the competition yet.
“It’s one important thing to win this kind of title, you have to be pushed – not just by the manager, by everyone surrounding Manchester City.” Guardiola said, ahead of City’s group match away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
“And still we don’t have that feeling, the feeling that the fans are pushing that we have to win the Champions League.”
“We are going to put in all effort to win this competition, but from what I saw last season we are not ready, that’s what I feel.
“That doesn’t mean we are not going to try.”
Guardiola won the competition twice while at Barcelona, his team beating Manchester United in both the 2009 and 2011 finals. In his first two seasons at City, he’s failed to take them beyond the quarter-finals – losing at the last eight stage to Liverpool a year ago and being knocked out by Monaco in the first knockout round the season before.
City suffered a surprise defeat at home to Lyon in their opening game in the competition this season but were able to win 2-1 away at Hoffenheim in their last Champions League game.
