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Manchester (AP) - Despite or because of the 2-1 first leg win for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola warned his professionals about the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain this evening (9 p.m. / Sky / DAZN).
"You have to understand that this will be a big battle and we will suffer," said the star coach, who wants to reach a Champions League final with the Citizens for the first time in club history, before the duel at the Etihad Stadium.
"You have to imagine that we can do it."
In the first leg, Man City got off to a bad start in Paris.
In the first half, the PSG team, peppered with stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, dominated the game in Prinzenpark and deservedly took the lead.
After the break, City turned up and turned the first semi-final with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
"You can not play 90 minutes like we did in the second half," said Guardiola now.
"I would like to do that, but it won't happen."
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The decisive factor is “how we play in the bad moments,” warned the coach, who as coach of FC Barcelona has twice won the pot. From his players against Paris, he demanded nothing else than usual. "We play tough games in the Premier League, as tough as PSG," said Guardiola. “Just go in and do what we did for the season. Take the ball, get your momentum back and try to win the game. "
With the exception of the FA Cup, where the semi-final against Thomas Tuchel's FC Chelsea ended, it worked out well this season. Man City celebrated the fourth League Cup triumph in a row. The championship in the Premier League is only a matter of form and could have been determined if Manchester United had lost to Liverpool on the previous day. But the game was postponed after protests against the United owners. Now City has it in their own hands against Chelsea.
Guardiola regularly emphasizes that the third league title in four years is above all for him.
But you don't have to believe him.
As is well known, winning the Champions League has long been the declared goal of the city bosses and would be the culmination of an outstanding season for the team around the German national soccer player Ilkay Gündogan, who is in the shape of his life.
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Until then, Paris still has a say.
At least superstar Neymar, who only attracted attention in the second half of the first leg for unsporting behavior, has not yet given up hope of being in the final again.
Last year PSG lost the final 0-1 against FC Bayern.
On Paris Club TV, Neymar made a martial statement: "I will be the first warrior who will go into battle for the team."
An English final would be possible.
In the other semi-final second leg, Chelsea and Real Madrid face each other, the Tuchel team have a good starting position after the 1-1 draw in Madrid.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210503-99-454047 / 2
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Statements by Pep Guardiola
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