Guardiola concedes Man City 'could not cope' with PSG as European hopes flicker

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola appeared resigned to the fact that his side was resoundingly outplayed by Paris Saint-Germain in a 4-2 loss that leaves its Champions League knockout hopes in doubt — a prospect that would have seemed unthinkable in recent campaigns.

Guardiola's men squandered a two-goal lead on Wednesday as PSG struck four times in the second half. The result dropped City to 25th in the standings, one spot outside the playoff qualifying positions.

His team now needs to win when it hosts Club Brugge in a nerve-jangling finale of the league phase on Jan 29.

Before that City hosts Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday in a key game in the fight for a top-four finish domestically.

"We had our moments and they had their moments, but they were better," he told TNT Sports. "They were quicker, faster, they won the duels, we could not cope. They were fast. The best team won. The game was never like we wanted.

"To play you have to play. To defend the result you have to keep the ball — we didn't have it. They had it more, they attacked better, that's why it was more difficult."

The loss was reminiscent of City's shocking collapse against Feyenoord in November, when it surrendered a threegoal lead late in the game to draw 3-3.

When asked about the possibility of City — Champions League victor in 2023 — not going through, Guardiola said: "It could happen. We will see.

"If we don't win (vs Brugge), we don't deserve it. All the away games we have are difficult, but it's the reality. We didn't get enough points."

Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Rio Ferdinand said it would be an embarrassment for the Premier League titan to fail to advance.

"I think Manchester City, with all the success they've had in recent years, have put them into a position where people expect them to get minimum into the knockout stages," Ferdinand said on the TNT broadcast.

"I think (City) will take it as an embarrassment, because they see themselves as a team that should get into the latter stages and they've demanded that of their team for the last few years."

Guardiola, who spent much of the match wildly waving his arms in frustration, said the game was lost in the midfield, where his squad is sorely missing Ballon d'Or winner Rodri to a season-ending knee injury.

"In football, everything happens in the middle," he said. "We have a last chance at home, we'll do everything there."

It remains to be seen if Ruben Dias will feature in either of those games after the Portuguese defender came off at halftime in Paris.

"He asked to be replaced because he didn't feel good," the coach said of Dias, who has only just returned from a spell on the sidelines due to injury.

A thrilled PSG manager Luis Enrique, Guardiola's good friend and former teammate at Barcelona, said the result was a huge boost to his team.

"Take the ball to one of the best teams in the world was our objective and we achieved it," he told reporters. "That was our idea, to be dangerous, to attack the spaces when they opened up and I think we got what we wanted.

"If we can do that at Manchester City, we can do it against a lot of teams."

AFP