Pep Guardiola praised Phil Foden and expressed his belief that Manchester City are “building history” after they knocked out Borussia Dortmund to reach the Champions League semi-finals for only a second time.
City remain on course for a historic quadruple after Foden’s 75th-minute strike confirmed their passage – 4-2 on aggregate – and followed the England forward’s late goal in the 2-1 first-leg win at the Etihad Stadium last week.
The manager said: “He’s always creating something – two important goals and he has helped us in the semi-final – in this quarter-final he was the most important player. It is the second time in the semi-finals so it is not history in the club, but we start to build it.
“We were brilliant except the first minutes where they were good. I’m incredibly happy to be in the semi-finals, to be one of the best four teams in Europe, to be against big, strong teams and we will try to be good. We break this bridge from quarter-finals to semi-finals.”
The last comment referred to City being eliminated at the last-eight stage for the past three seasons under Guardiola, his team having failed to progress beyond in the last 16 in his first term in charge. Yet after Jude Bellingham’s 15th-minute opener had Dortmund going through on away goals City responded via a second-half Riyad Mahrez penalty and Foden’s shot from outside the penalty area that struck the post before going over the line. The win sets up a meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
“The semi-final of the Champions League – we cannot expect anything but tough,” Guardiola said.
Of a potential quadruple the City manager said: “We need three wins for the Premier League, we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League, semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of Carabao Cup. We don’t talk about winning all four – we take one game at a time.” – Guardian
