Guardiola Supports Struggling City as They Face Increasing Pressure in Champions League Battle

Pep Guardiola remains convinced that Manchester City can secure their place in the Champions League, even as he acknowledges feeling the growing pressure during Saturday’s 2-2 stalemate against Brighton.

City missed the opportunity to reclaim a position in the Premier League’s top four, having lost the lead twice against fellow Champions League contenders Brighton at the Etihad Stadium.

Currently, Guardiola’s team occupies fifth place in the standings, keeping an eye on fourth-placed Chelsea, who will face Arsenal on Sunday.

After clinching four consecutive English titles, this unfamiliar predicament has left both players and supporters on edge, with Guardiola candidly noting a palpable sense of anxiety around the club.

“Absolutely. Everyone is feeling the pressure. But it is what it is. We must improve our performance and then we’ll come back,” he remarked.

“In good times, they are there, but undoubtedly, they recognise it when things aren’t going well.”

Despite the challenges, Guardiola holds a hopeful outlook that City will clinch a top-four finish, with the Champions League spots set to be filled by the top four teams, and the fifth-placed club’s fate likely hinging on English clubs’ performances in Europe this season.

“I remain confident; I consider myself a master at this. There are moments when I might doubt, but I find a positive path through everything,” Guardiola stated, reflecting on his side’s recent 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

“I know it will be tough for various reasons, but we have nine matches left, and each one is a final.”

Guardiola had no qualms regarding the outcome, as Erling Haaland’s penalty and an Omar Marmoush goal were offset by Pervis Estupinan’s free-kick and an own goal from Abdukodir Khusanov.

“The performance was significantly better than our defeat to Nottingham Forest,” he noted.

“We created some good moments, but they have exceptional players who handled the match well.”

One of Guardiola’s grievances was the second-half yellow card given to Jeremy Doku for diving, as the City winger had been trying to evade a challenge from Jan Paul van Hecke.

“If he hadn’t jumped, he could have suffered a serious injury,” stated Guardiola, also confirming that goalkeeper Ederson was absent due to an abdominal injury.

“Jeremy isn’t a player who dives. They should be aware of that, but we didn’t win or lose because of those decisions.”