Pep Guardiola says he will be viewed as a failure as Manchester City boss if he does not win the Champions League during his time at the club.
City take a 2-1 aggregate lead to Borussia Dortmund for the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday.
They have not reached the semi-finals under Guardiola, going out in the last eight for the last three seasons.
“I know if we don’t win I’ll be a failure and if we do it’s ‘how good is Pep‘,” said Guardiola.
City’s preparations were hampered by a series of fireworks being let off outside the team hotel in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
On two occasions during the night explosions woke players and staff before a third attempt was prevented by the Blues’ own security staff.
City’s cause will be boosted by the absence of Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho from the second leg, with the England and ex-City forward still recovering from the thigh injury that prevented him playing in the first leg.
However, the German side’s away goal at the Etihad means they would advance with a 1-0 win on home soil and Guardiola is urging his side to focus on their plan rather than worry about the permutations.
“If you think of the consequences or goals you have to score or concede, you forget what you have to do,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happens in the first leg, you have a chance in the second.
“It will be better they don’t score and we win, but in the Champions League you always have a chance. We have weapons to score, they have weapons to score.
“Our idea is to go there do as best as possible and let them feel we are not going to defend what we got here. We want to impose our game to win the game.”
The winners will play Paris St-Germain in the two-legged semi-final after PSG, managed by former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, edged out reigning holders Bayern Munich.
The German side won 1-0 in the second leg in France on Tuesday, but lost on the away-goals rule after it finished 3-3 on aggregate following PSG’s 3-2 win in the first leg.
‘Maybe I will play the same team in Dortmund?’
City were beaten at home by 10-man Leeds on Saturday – only their fourth defeat of a season in which they are still competing on four fronts.
Guardiola made seven changes to his side for the loss, including resting in-form players such as Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan to the bench.
“I made changes but maybe I will play the same team in Dortmund,” added Guardiola.
“I’ve said many times they play because I want to let them play, not because I reserve these players.
“I select every team to win a specific game. If not, it would not be possible to arrive in the position that we we are in the Premier League and the other competitions.
“I decided on the selection and, with 29 games and 27 won, the rotation was exceptional, wasn’t it?“
City’s only injury concerns are striker Sergio Aguero and defender Aymeric Laporte, who has a hip problem.
‘Courage and patience’
With Sancho already ruled out, Dortmund are waiting on the fitness of Marco Reus and Mats Hummels for Wednesday’s second leg.
Reus limped out of Saturday’s 3-2 win at Stuttgart, after the attacking midfielder scored for the second match in a row, while centre-back Hummels did not come out for the second half after feeling unwell.
Dortmund have had an inconsistent season and sit fifth in the Bundesliga, seven points behind fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
Winning the Champions League this season is their most likely route back into the competition next campaign, which may be the only way they can keep all of their hugely talented crop of young players such as striker Erling Braut Haaland and England pair Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
“As a coach, it’s my job to get the best out of him [Haaland], not to put a price tag on him,” said Dortmund boss Edin Terzic.
“I have to get the best out of the team and want to advance to the next round.“
On the tie itself, he added: “We want to perform and write an incredible history.
“It’s difficult. We have to score a goal. One goal won’t be enough if we concede. It’s always important to finding the mix between courage and patience.“
Source Credit: BBC Sport
