Helping Man City advance, Mourinho receives thanks from Guardiola

Coach Pep Guardiola openly thanked fellow coach Jose Mourinho for indirectly assisting Man City in qualifying for the Champions League round of 16.

Guardiola revealed that all Man City players watched the dramatic final moments of Benfica’s victory over Real Madrid in the locker room, and everyone was stunned to see goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin push forward to score the decisive goal.

If Real Madrid had managed to score a late goal to end the match 3-3, Man City would have been knocked out of the Champions League top 8. However, with the score at 3-2, Jose Mourinho took a risk by instructing Trubin to join the attack in the 98th minute. The Ukrainian goalkeeper then rose to head in the fourth goal, securing a 4-2 win for Benfica and helping the team qualify for the playoffs thanks to a superior goal difference.

This result allowed Man City to finish eighth in the group standings, thus avoiding the two-legged playoff round in February.

Watching the entire thrilling match unfold, Guardiola admitted he was truly anxious as Benfica left their goal unguarded in search of another goal.

“We were all there and didn’t even realize Benfica still needed one more goal to advance. So when we saw the goalkeeper push forward, we all wondered why, because Real Madrid could have equalized and knocked us out,” Guardiola shared.

“But clearly, that was a clever tactic by Jose to score the fourth goal, right?”

When asked if he would thank Mourinho, his longtime colleague and rival, Guardiola replied briefly: “Of course, absolutely.”

It was also a perfect evening for Guardiola as Man City fulfilled their mission with a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray, with goals from Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki.

Speaking further about Manchester City’s win, Pep said:“We played better in the first half than the second. I’m really pleased to finish in the top 8, especially given how tough the Champions League has become.

When I started coaching 16 or 17 years ago, the Champions League was a very different competition. Now, every team is extremely challenging. I’m glad we don’t have to play the playoffs and hope that by March, when the round of 16 begins, we’ll be in the best form possible.”