Guardiola Agrees PSG Are Better

PARIS: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted that his team was dominated by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) when they lost 4-2, which affected their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Guardiola’s men squandered a two-goal lead early on as PSG stormed to a four-goal second-half comeback.

The result saw City drop to 25th place, one place outside of play-off qualification.

They now need to win when they host Club Brugge in the final group stage match on January 29.

“We had our moments and they had their moments, but they were better,” he told TNT Sports.

“They were quicker, quicker, they won the ball, we couldn’t handle it. They were very fast. The best team won. This game was never what we wanted.

“To play you have to play. To defend you have to hold the ball – we didn’t have it. They had it more, they attacked better, that’s why it was more difficult.”

The defeat was reminiscent of City’s shock defeat against Feyenoord two months ago, when they squandered a three-goal lead late in the match before drawing 3-3.

When asked about the possibility of City – Champions League winners in 2023 – not qualifying, Guardiola said: “It could happen. We’ll see.

“If we don’t win (against Brugge) we don’t deserve it. All the away games we have are difficult, but that’s the reality. We haven’t collected enough points.”