Pep Guardiola: Man City still not good enough to win Champions League
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes the English Premier League champions are still not strong enough at either end of the field to count themselves as realistic contenders to win the Champions League for the first time.
| MAN CITY | ATALANTA |
City are the bookmakers' favourites to finally win the biggest prize in European football, after more than a decade of huge investment from the club's Abu Dhabi owners and in Guardiola's fourth season in charge.
However, the Catalan, who has won the Champions League twice as a manager and once as a player at Barcelona, thinks City will be punished in the latter stages of the competition if their inconsistent form in the EPL spills over to the continent.
"We miss a lot of chances in the final third and we have to... be clinical. When the people say about the Champions League being the target, we are still not ready," said Guardiola, whose side host Atalanta at the Etihad tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
City have been beset by injuries in defence and suffered shock losses to Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their opening nine EPL games.
Against Atalanta, Guardiola will at least have more options, with Nicolas Otamendi and Kyle Walker returning to training after missing Saturday's 2-0 win at Crystal Palace, while John Stones could make his first start in five weeks. - AFP
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