Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was delighted to see his side progress in the Champions League after a tough night against Club Brugge.
The Premier League champions fell behind on the stroke of half-time, putting their chances of moving forwards down even more.
But a spirited second-half comeback, which saw both Mateo Kovacic and Savinho score, ensured they will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the play-off round ahead of the last 16.
Guardiola said after the match: “In the second half we lifted our soul and our hearts were free. For today we are in the next round, that’s good. The first half was so academic, we didn’t have the spark to do it against a team that defends really well.
“Going to Bayern Munich or Real Madrid will be really tough but it’s in two weeks and in two weeks we have a few players back, the new signings back, so hopefully we can do two good games.
“Kova was there and he has experience and he scored a fantastic goal. I know Kova is able to break the lines in that way. It is something unique, something special. We did it and now it is time to enjoy it because it has been a really, really tough season in the Champions League. We struggled a lot but finally we could qualify and the draw is the draw. We’ll see.
“We believed in our souls and our hearts” 🩵
Pep Guardiola talks through an emotional night which saw his Man City side clinch qualification for the UCL knockout phase play-offs against Club Brugge.
🎙️ @Becky_Ives_ #GoalsShowXtra
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/cGx8it6kbI
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 29, 2025
“It has been so unstable this season. Today is a sense of relief to qualify and of course, it is a long season for us.”
Guardiola will have two new signings to register should they make it through in the form of Vitor Ruis and Abdukodir Khusanov.
And the Spaniard was simply happy with the fact that he will be able to call on more players in the coming weeks.
He added: “Of course, it’s important. We suffered all season without players. To have these players, you have more alternatives. Hopefully, Jeremy [Doku] is back as well so we have players to do it and do our best.”
