Manchester City strives to stay in the Champions League Guardiola says the role of fans is extremely important

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League will usher in the 8th round of the game, and the "Blue Moon" Manchester City will face Bruges at the Etihad Stadium. Coach Guardiola said that his team must win to continue this journey, so the fans will play a very important role.

In the last round of the Champions League, Manchester City took the lead with goals from Grealish and Haaland, but then conceded goals in quick succession and eventually lost 2-2 to French champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. Manchester City is currently ranked 25th in the standings with 8 points, which means Guardiola's team must win this game to qualify for the play-offs.

However, in the earlier Premier League, Manchester City defeated Chelsea 3-1 after being one goal ahead with goals from Gvardiol, Haaland and Foden, successfully preparing for this focus match of the Champions League with two consecutive victories.

Speaking about the importance of the fans, Manchester City coach Guardiola said at a press conference, "They should do what they can, and the rest needs to be done by ourselves. If we play well and have a good rhythm, they will be with us, just like in the last game against Chelsea. We felt their support, although it was a very difficult start."

You must try your best to find your opponent's weaknesses

"We have played against Brugge in the past and they are more aggressive now, they have good possession and we have to play well to win the game."

As for the team's lineup, Guardiola said, "All the players who played against Chelsea in the last game are available, and I think Oscar Bob is back too. Stones played 35 minutes in that game and performed very well, and we will continue to see how he is."

“The situation is that we have to win, otherwise we can’t continue in this competition. We want to fight for the opportunity to play two play-offs to advance to the next stage. This is not a problem, but an opportunity and a challenge. We will do our best. I expect the opponents to be very strong. When a team can remain unbeaten in 20 games, it already shows that they are outstanding.”

In addition, Guardiola also said, "I watched their games and understood why they were able to beat Aston Villa and performed well against Juventus and AC Milan."

"They have many variations in their offensive organization, and their man-to-man defense strategy is always uncomfortable, so we need to read the game well and find countermeasures. But every team, including Manchester City, has weaknesses, and we need to find these weaknesses and exploit them."