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Guardiola is ready for another roll of the dice

Just over a decade has passed since the last time Pep Guardiola managed to lead a team all the way to Champions League glory, and the Catalan coach is set to go in pursuit of Manchester City’s dream once again as Europe’s premier club competition kicks off this Tuesday evening.

Featuring in a tough group that contains Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig and Club Brugge, Manchester City will try to better last season’s performance, which saw them reach the final but ultimately lost out to Chelsea.

“Every time I start this competition with drive,” Guardiola said during Tuesday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s clash against Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

“Manchester City made a step forward last season, we improved a lot. We had 13 games and we won 11. We played incredibly well in [the final in] Porto when we drew and deserved to win.

“We lost the final. People can say Manchester 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.

“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.”

Pressure to win the Champions League
Having been criticised over the last decade for spending big at both Bayern Munich and Manchester City but failing to win the Champions League, Guardiola feels that he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.

The Catalan tactician has reiterated that he and his players have worked a lot in recent years to achieve the club’s objectives and noted that his work should be judged after his tenure at the Sky Blues comes to an end.

“If I win the Champions League, I will be happy for the club,” added Guardiola.

“If I’m not able to do it, I’m not able [to]. After, you can judge the success of my period [at the club].

“I try to do my best every single day, winning or not winning. People judge my job like I judge my players and how incredibly they’ve done in the last five years.”

Competing against Messi for top spot
Manchester City’s goal in the group stage is clear. The Sky Blues want to secure the top spot in Group A ahead of the Champions League knockout rounds, but to do so they will have to overcome Lionel Messi’s PSG.

The two men are set to face each other again, more than 10 years after celebrating their last joint success at Wembley Stadium in London, where Barcelona defeated Manchester United to lift the Champions League trophy in 2011.

Since then Messi has won the Champions League once while Guardiola has failed to, which has led to some to claim that the Argentine was the main reason behind the coach’s success in Europe.

Manchester City were reportedly willing to sign Messi this summer, but Guardiola played down rumours and insisted that the two men will not rejoin forces.

Now, Messi and Guardiola are rivals on the pitch again, with their teams having the same objective, which is winning the Champions League for the first time in their history.

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