Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City defenders to 'maintain this mood'

Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City defenders to ‘maintain this mood’ after recording seventh successive clean sheet in the Champions League in victory over Borussia Monchengladbach

  • City are just third team to keep seven consecutive clean sheets in competition
  • Tuesday’s 2-0 win win was kickstarted by a rocket of an opener from De Bruyne
  • Guardiola under no illusions that sterner tests await in the Champions League 
  • Match report: Pep Guardiola’s side cruise into Champions League quarter-finals 

Pep Guardiola called on his Manchester City defenders to ‘maintain this mood’ after making it 706 minutes since they last conceded a goal in the Champions League.

City are only the third team in the competition’s history to keep seven consecutive clean sheets, after AC Milan – seven, ending in 2005 – and Arsenal – 10, ending in 2006.

Guardiola is under no illusions that sterner tests than Borussia Monchengladbach await in the Champions League, however.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is under no illusions that sterner tests await in the Champions League

‘What happened in the past is the past,’ Guardiola said. ‘The quarter finals, one bad game, bad moments, bad minutes, they can punish you with their quality.

‘Right now all the teams will be so big. We only conceded one goal against Porto. That is impressive.

‘It’s an incredible step forward for the team. Everyone runs a lot, not just the strikers. But it’s important to understand that we defend with the ball. We have to be aggressive without the ball. All the teams right now, the quality they have, they can punish you.

‘After the international break, we will have time to think. The quality every time is higher and hopefully we can maintain this mood. I always think when you go through you deserve it. We try to play good and we will see what happens.’

Man City cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals after a comfortable 4-0 win on aggregate against Gladbach

Guardiola has distanced himself from the Q word – Quadruple – but has been chopping and changing his line up in a bid to compete in all four competitions.

Raheem Sterling did not start for the third consecutive match. Speaking last night, Guardiola said: ‘We now have everybody fit. That’s why we can rotate six or seven players.

‘If you want to compete for competitions you have to be fresh. The seasons are so long, we haven’t had one long week since October.’

Ilkay Gundogan scored City’s second on the night, clipping the ball into the corner beyond Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer

City’s 2-0 win on Tuesday night was kickstarted by a rocket of an opener from Kevin De Bruyne.

De Bruyne said: ‘We were patient in the beginning and when we scored the two goals, it gave us cover.

‘We controlled the game. It’s always important when you are stable as a defence and as a team, it gives the whole team confidence. It is really nice for Ederson and the defenders. It’s easy when we don’t concede.’

Kevin De Bruyne had, six minutes earlier, given City the lead with a stunning left-footed strike into the roof of the net 




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