Pep Guardiola was pleased with Manchester City's aggression after their emphatic 7-0 win over Schalke booked his side's place in the Champions League quarter finals on Tuesday.
City's comprehensive win at the Etihad sealed a 10-2 aggregate victory over the relegation-threatened Bundesliga side, as a Sergio Aguero brace and goals from Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus overwhelmed the German outfit.
8 - Manchester City's 10-2 aggregate win over Schalke is the biggest ever by an English side in a Champions League knockout tie. Cruise. pic.twitter.com/NFfg3MfTmD
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 12 mars 2019
The deadlock was broken by Aguero from the spot after 35 minutes, following a somewhat subdued opening half hour by the hosts, with Guardiola admitting on the club's official website that his side were frightened to play up until that point.
“We didn't start that well – we were a bit scared to play – but after it went 1-0, we relaxed and decided to play and be aggressive," the Spaniard said.
“We started the first 20 minutes to not lose what we achieved in Germany. That was why we didn’t over-attack.
Man City have now scored 24 goals in this season's #UCL; five more than Man Utd (10) and Liverpool (9) have netted combined in this season's competition.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) 12 mars 2019
Incredible firepower. pic.twitter.com/n1QqssVWx4
Guardiola is fully aware of the challenge City face in obtaining Champions League glory this season, highlighting the quality of opposition left in the competition. However, he refused to rule his side out, insisting the club's next goal is to equal their previous best finish in the competition, the semi-finals.
“When I said (before the game) we are a ‘teenage team’ in the Champions League, I did not say: we are not going to fight," he added.
"The best success in the history of the competition for us is the semi-final.
“We go through to the quarter-finals happy. It is so nice.”
Source : 90min