Pep Guardiola believes he will be called a failure if Manchester City exit the Champions League to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
City take a 2-1 lead to Germany as they look to reach a first European semi-final under the Catalan. They are also in the FA Cup semi-finals, the League Cup final and 11 points away from regaining the Premier League title, but Guardiola is bracing himself for more criticism if they got out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage for a fourth successive season.
He is a double Champions League winner as a manager, but this year will mark a decade since Barcelona’s 2011 victory, but Guardiola defended his record while insisting he did not deserve the credit for the triumphs at the start of his coaching career.
“In 10 years, I was always in the quarters and semis,” he said. “But I didn't win the Champions League with Barcelona, we won the Champions League.
“If I retire now or in five or 10 years, what happens in my career I didn't expect it. I’m so grateful and happy but this is a business and the business is to win. I know if we don’t win, I’ll be a failure. And if we do it’s ‘how good is Pep?’”
City suffered a shock defeat to Leeds on Saturday but Guardiola believes he would be 'crazy' to doubt his team. "After 27 victories in 29 games, if I don't trust in the players, we will have a big, big problem, I would be crazy," he said.
City’s previous quarter-final exits to Liverpool, Tottenham and Lyon have been notable for them conceding goals in quick succession. Guardiola is unsure if they are better equipped to cope with setbacks. “They are human beings, people forget,” he said. “There are emotions in a game and many circumstances happen.”
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City v Dortmund first leg player ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS. Ederson - 6, Bravely stopped Reus, but was incredibly lucky to hear the whistle after he was tackled by Jude Bellingham. Did well to keep Erling Haaland out after he’d got past Ruben Dias. EPA -
Kyle Walker - 6, Was so dominant in a lot of his defensive play, but Marco Reus managed to get away from him for the equaliser. Reuters -
John Stones - 7, Dominant in his aerial duels and looked comfortable for large periods, whether he was on the ball or dealing with attacks. Haaland got the ball past him for the equaliser. AFP -
Ruben Dias - 6, Did well to get the ball away from Haaland when the Norwegian threatened to cause a problem but was overpowered by him another time. There were a few moments where it seemed the centre-back may give the ball away in a dangerous area. Reuters -
Joao Cancelo - 6, There were some sloppy moments from the full-back early on, but he fixed any problems and provided some great passes. Reuters -
Rodri - 5, Got away with giving the ball away in a dangerous area but felt that he should have had a penalty – though the initial call was overturned by VAR. His touch was a bit off, as the ball rolled away from him more times than would be expected. EPA -
Ilkay Gundogan - 8, Brought out some wonderful touches and showed brilliant composure to set up Phil Foden for the winner. AFP -
Riyad Mahrez - 7, Was smart in his play to set up Kevin De Bruyne rather than shooting for the opener, though he could have done better with his effort towards the end of the first half. Reuters -
Kevin De Bruyne - 9, Showed good movement and finished convincingly to score the opener, while his usual quality could be seen throughout the proceedings. Put in a wonderful ball for the winner. Reuters -
Phil Foden - 9, Was lively throughout and tore Mateu Morey to shreds. Played a nice pass across the box for the opener. Will have thought he’d come away from this game without a goal but tucked the ball away right near the end. Reuters -
Bernardo Silva - 7, Provided some great touches and there were periods where he controlled the pace of the game well. Reuters -
SUB: Gabriel Jesus (Silva 59’) - 6, Helped to stretch the away side’s defence at times but couldn’t get into positions where he threatened the goal. EPA -
BORUSSIA DORTMUND RATINGS. Marwin Hitz - 6, Had no chance for the goals but made some decent saves, the best of which came to deny Foden. Reuters -
Mateu Morey - 5, Gave himself no chance of helping out defensively for the opener due to his positioning. Struggled to deal with Foden all night and got away with it when his attempted clearance spun back to the goalkeeper. EPA -
Manuel Akanji - 7, Had some eye-catching moments on the ball and often looked strong defensively. Reuters -
Mats Hummels - 7, Misplaced a few of his passes but showed his defensive quality, making interventions and tackles at key times. Reuters -
Raphael Guerreiro - 6, Couldn’t get involved as much as he probably would have liked in an attacking sense, but held his own defensively. Reuters -
Jude Bellingham - 8, Felt hard-done-by when his tackle on Ederson was deemed to be a foul, and he was then booked for it. Was composed on the ball, which was vital when he got the ball around the corner to Haaland for the equaliser. EPA -
Emre Can - 4, Gave the ball away to start the move that resulted in the opener and was booked during the penalty incident that was overturned. There were various times where he thought too slowly with the ball at his feet. Reuters -
Mahmoud Dahoud - 7, Was neat on the ball and showed moments of quality, while he also put in some impressive work defensively. EPA -
Ansgar Knauff - 6, He was thrown in at the deep end, making his first ever start, and while he wasn’t completely out of place, the teenager struggled to get much out of either City full-back. Reuters -
Erling Haaland - 7, Spent so much of the game on the periphery of proceedings but came alive to set up the equaliser. Saw his effort saved after getting the better of Dias. Reuters -
Marco Reus – 8, Was aesthetically pleasing with the ball at his feet throughout, but even better, he scored the equaliser. Came so close to intercepting a Dias pass inside the City box. EPA -
SUB: Giovanni Reyna (Knauff 63’) - 6, Worked hard and showed moments of quality but couldn’t really display his talents in their entirety. Reuters -
SUB: Thomas Delaney (Dahoud 81’) – N/R, Did the basics well but couldn’t quite help Dortmund keep City out. EPA -
SUB: Thomas Meunier (Morey 81’) – N/R, Allowed Gundogan and Foden to run off the back of him for the winner. Reuters
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Ilkay Gundogan, who has played in all three quarter-finals, hopes they can cut out the errors that have cost them in the past.
“I know that we have a great team and are capable of going into the semi-finals,” City’s top scorer said. “We should have been there earlier in the last few seasons already but we were lacking something. People sometimes unnecessarily made individual mistakes that led to goals we conceded and then obviously it is tough.”
Gundogan believes City’s defensive improvement gives them their best chance so far as well as him the opportunity to enjoy the most prolific season of his career.
“I feel like we are much more stable at the moment, especially defensively,” he said. “The more you proceed in this competition, the more important it gets. It gives you a safe feeling when you know that your defensive line is working great."
The former Dortmund midfielder has scored 16 times so far and explained: “With the ball movement from our goalkeeper through the defenders and midfield, I don't feel that I need to get involved too much. It just gives me the opportunity to be in the right spaces at the right time and get into the positions where I have the chance to score.”
Gundogan struck in the 2013 final for Dortmund, when they lost to Bayern Munich. “Probably the biggest defeat I have faced in my career so far,” he said. “A bad day, sad day, frustrating day.”
Winning the Champions League represents an unfulfilled ambition for him. “When I was growing up watching at home with the family, midweek games, it was like a festival, we celebrated watching Champions League games,” he said. “It is the highest level you can play football at.”
