‘We are a team that believes we can do it’ – Pep Guardiola after win against Copenhagen

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was given time by the club’s management to settle in and get the positive results for the club. The Cityzens qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals with a 3-1 win (second-leg) win against Copenhagen on Wednesday night.

The Sky Blues advanced with an aggregate score of 6-2 against the Danish club in the round of 16. City won the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League in the previous season and became the first English club since Manchester United did so in 1999, to achieve this feat.

Meanwhile, City faced some crushing defeats in the Champions League in the last few years but they are currently one of the best teams in the world. Moreover, they have won the Premier League on six occasions in the last decade.

“We arrived here from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, where the demand is to always be there,” he said. “I felt the club – not the players – didn’t feel it.

“Managers and hierarchies don’t get time, but they gave us time to lose against Monaco [2017], against Liverpool [2018], against Tottenham [2019].

“It is easy for clubs that have big history – start with the best ones: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Manchester United, they have been used to it.

“Coming here, it was not about one person from Catalonia saying ‘now we are going to win the Champions League’. They gave me time.

“Now we are a process where we can lose, definitely, but we can compete everywhere because we come from a final, a semi-final, a final and now the quarter-finals again. That means consistency.”

Meanwhile, City will next take on table-toppers Liverpool on Sunday and it will be a huge match in context to the title. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said City will enter the contest with confidence.

He told TNT Sport: “Man City know what they are doing, they have been here before. The manager is a relentless force. The focus is there and this is a juggernaut that needs to be stopped.”