Pep Guardiola, the Spanish manager of Manchester City, is seen gesturing on the touchline during the English League Cup third-round football match against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on September 24, 2020.Ahead of the Champions League final against Inter Milan, Pep Guardiola has cautioned his Manchester City players to maintain confidence without slipping into arrogance. The team is on the verge of achieving a historic treble by potentially becoming the second side ever to win the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup in a single season.Manchester City enters the clash in Istanbul on Saturday as the overwhelming favorites, having achieved impressive victories over Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on their path to the final. On the other hand, Inter Milan finished third in Serie A and faced a less challenging journey, defeating Porto, Benfica, and AC Milan.
Despite City’s advantageous position, Guardiola has cautioned his team against complacency, highlighting Inter’s superior European Cup history with three triumphs compared to City’s none. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining focus and not underestimating their opponents.“Of course we are confident, so optimistic, but at the same time I cannot deny the difficulties and qualities of the opponents,” said Guardiola at City’s pre-match media day on Tuesday.
“I have never done it and especially in the final of the Champions League.”
City remain on course to match the treble achievement of Manchester United’s class of 1998/99 by beating the Red Devils 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Guardiola said that was far better preparation for the Champions League final than their only previous appearance in the European showpiece two years when his side lost 1-0 against Chelsea in Porto.
But he insisted City’s stunning form in the past four months will count for nothing when it comes to getting the job done at the Ataturk Stadium.
City’s only defeat in their last 27 games came at Brentford on the final day of the Premier League season after the title had long since been won.
“We know a final is about how you behave for 95 minutes. It’s not about history, for history they are better than us,” Guardiola said.
“It doesn’t matter what you do in group stage, last 16, quarter-finals, Premier League or FA Cup. It’s one single game you have to be better than the opponent.”
Kyle Walker is City’s only injury worry as the England right-back sat out training on Tuesday with a back injury.
But he is expected to recover in time to be available for the final.
“He has had a little bit of a disturbance in his back,” Guardiola said.
“Yesterday he was not good, today he was a little bit better but we didn’t want to take any risks. We will see in the next days.”
