Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has said that his side’s run to the final last season was an “incredible achievement” for the club.
City played in the final of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in its history in May but failed to win the top prize, losing 1-0 to English rivals Chelsea.
However, Guardiola has praised the journey to the final, which consisted of 11 wins and a draw, as an achievement and not a failure.
The Manchester-based team won a group that consisted of Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille, and beat Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and 2019/20 finalists Paris Saint-Germain on the road to the last fixture on the competition’s calendar.
“People can say Man City was a failure but it was an incredible achievement last season, playing really well in many of the games and losing well against a big contender,” Guardiola said.
“Every time I start this competition with drive. I’m incredibly happy here. Man City made a step forward last season, we improved a lot. We had 13 games and we won 11.
“We played incredibly well in Porto [in the group stage] when we drew and deserved to win. We lost the final.
“Now we start a new one and every team wants to win. We’re going to try but I won’t tell you which team is going to win because I don’t know it.”
Manchester City enter this year’s competition as joint-favourites in the eyes of the bookmakers alongside slain semi-finalists from last year, PSG, at 7/2.
City have yet to add a European trophy to the collection that only swells with each passing season.
They begin their quest for a first-ever piece of silverware on the European stage when they face German outfit RB Leipzig on Wednesday, September 15 at 8 pm.
