Guardiola is happy with the maturity of City's players ... and confirms: We have accomplished half the mission

Manchester City coach Josep Guardiola asked his players to trust in their abilities to complete the task against Paris Saint-Germain, France next week, in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, after they returned yesterday with a precious 2-1 victory from Paris.

The Spanish coach's players overturned a goal behind, to make an important step towards the club’s first Champions League final, before the second leg on May 4.

Guardiola said he was happy with the level of hype the City players had reached, stressing that they had "only accomplished half of the mission." City reached the last square for the first time in five years under the supervision of the brilliant coach, and he repeated the scenario of his match in the second leg of the quarter-finals, when he conceded an early goal on Borussia Dortmund, his heart in the second half to a 2-1 victory. "In Dortmund we received and came back, and today the same thing. What I want is for us to be ourselves in the second match," Guardiola said.

"We are good at playing in one way, but we cannot play in another way. I hope to find the right words, the right decisions to do so," he said. City showed maturity on the continental stage to calm the opening storm of Saint-Germain, after a header from Brazilian defense captain Marquinhos. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach added, "They were good when the score was 1-0. We could not pressure. We did not grab the right place, but this is normal." "The club does not have experience in these rounds of the competition, but I hope this will help us to trust ourselves. I think in the second half, we were very fierce and played well."

For his part, Saint Germain held his mission and his dream to go to Istanbul for the May 29 final, for the second time in a row, after losing the 2020 final against Bayern Munich with a goal. And his Argentine coach, Mauricio Pochettino, called for not giving up before the response game in Manchester. Where the two goals. "

The former Tottenham coach continued, "We did not show the same energy with the ball. This is the key for me, because in the first half we were better in possession."

The attacking duo, Neymar and Mbappe, failed under close scrutiny, while the Argentine winger Angel Di Maria was the best attacking player for the Qatari-owned team.

The former defender added, "The second leg will be different. We were good in Barcelona and in Munich. Confidence will play an important role. We must be optimistic and positive, and have confidence in our ability to win and reach the final."

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