Pep Guardiola hails ‘incredible’ Manchester City players after beating PSG

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has showered praise on his players after beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. Thanks to the victory at the Etihad stadium, City reached their first Champions League final with a 4-1 aggregate. Riyad Mahrez was their hero as he scored a goal each in both half to help the Premier League leaders knock out last season’s finalists.

Guardiola, who has won the competition twice before with Barcelona (2009 and 2011), will reach the Champions League final for the first time since winning it in 2011 against Manchester United. His boys will now face either Chelsea or Real Madrid in the final in Istanbul on May 29^th. Guardiola will be keen to help Man City win the coveted European trophy for the first time in their history.

Delighted with the incredible victory, he was full of praise for his players. “We beat a team that knocked out Barcelona and Bayern Munich,” he said after the match. “We struggled early on but were much better in the second half. It was an incredible, huge victory for us.”

“What the players have done this season is incredible in the toughest year for everyone. Being so close to winning the Premier League and in the final of the Champions League is so good.”

‘Incredibly proud’

Guardiola also spoke about the contribution of the players who did not feature on the night for his side. “I’m incredibly proud and my first thoughts are with the players who didn’t play today. They all deserved to play, everyone has made a contribution and now it is time to enjoy it,” he added.

Man City have time till May 29^th to prepare for the final. But first, it’s about securing the Premier League title. “We have to win the league and we have two or three weeks to prepare for the final,” he said.

“People believe it’s easy to arrive in the final of the Champions League. Getting to the final now makes sense of what we have done in the past four or five years.”