Guardiola Sends Message To Chelsea Ahead Of Champions League Final

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has warned Chelsea that their two recent victories over his side will have no impact on the Champions League final.

Guardiola will be aiming to win the Champions League for the first time in a decade as he guides City to their first-ever final in the competition on Saturday.

Standing in the club’s way of the trophy will be Premier League rivals Chelsea, who do hold a psychological edge over the Blues.

Although City won the first meeting of the season at the turn of the year, Chelsea have defeated them in their last two match-ups in the Premier League and FA Cup semi-finals.

However, Guardiola has pointed out that both those matches came in the wake of City advancing in Europe and will have no effect on the game in Porto.

“Absolutely nothing! Zero. I know how we prepare this final,” he told BT Sport when asked by Rio Ferdinand what impact the defeats will have on his preparations.

“We came [faced Chelsea in FA Cup semi-final] just two days after qualifying for the Dortmund game away and after the semi-finals [played Chelsea in the league] in that moment.

“Well deserved, congratulations to Chelsea. New game we face on Saturday, we see what happens.

“If we won those two games my position would be the same right now because I know what is the Champions League.

“The season is gone, it’s over. Just one game the Champions League. Everyone is on the beach, holidays, thinking next season, except one game.

“The last nine years I watched on TV when I was on holidays now we prepare for the game, just one game, final, it’s completely different.”

Winning the Champions League has been City’s aim since they were taken over in 2008 but Guardiola insists he has not been put under pressure by the club to win the competition.

“Honestly, the club didn’t ask me, ‘You have to win the Champions League’,” he added.

“If I was in United, Liverpool, Barcelona, Madrid, always you have to win the Champions League. I didn’t feel this pressure at Man City Absolutely [it was outside pressure].

“Never from the chairman, CEO, never them, it was just do your job. The pressure at Man City is you have to play your team why you took over. You took over to play a certain way, you have to do it this way.“

The article was originally published on Nigeria News