Champions League

Guardiola craves Celtic Park’s atmosphere at City’s Etihad Stadium

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he wants the atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium to be more like that of Celtic after his side drew 3-3 in Glasgow in the Champions League.

City came from behind three times to draw against Brendan Rodgers’ side in front of a packed house that created a cauldron-like atmosphere at Celtic Park.

The Spaniard reflected on Celtic’s long history in European competition after the Scottish side ended his 100 per cent record as City boss.

“Each clubs has its personality,” he told reporters after the game. “What I want at Manchester City is what they are.

“Every club has history, personality, the way it handles the situation, the support. I’m pleased with what we have. Celtic have a huge history in Europe and we’re here to build ours up.”

Strikes from Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling and Nolito put City back on level terms after Moussa Dembele’s brace and Sterling’s own goal gave Celtic the lead, and Guardiola singled out Dembele for praise.

He said: “Sometimes you start behind. It’s not easy to come back, so imagine two, imagine three.

“We adapted quite well. They are strong, Dembele is strong in the air. In the first half they won all the second balls and we had problems to control that.

“It’s a mental shock when you concede a goal.”

He added: “Europe is special, the teams are so strong and this environment is amazing, but it will be a good lesson for the future.”

Despite the result bringing to an end Guardiola’s run of winning every game in charge at Manchester City, he refused to criticise his players.

He said: “I didn’t speak about the record with my players. I don’t think it’s necessary to speak to them – I didn’t think they thought they would win every game this season, it’s impossible.

“But in the balance, they did really, really well. In chances and in controlling the game, we were better.

“When you concede three goals away, there are things you can improve.”

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Related Articles

Back to top button
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x