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Pep Guardiola congratulated his players for the job well done after being twice winner by 2 tied against Lyon.
The French team, which had won a surprise against Etihad in the opening game of the group, harassed the Blues all night in front of a bustling crowd representing nearly 60,000 people and was frustrated at not being able to keep his victory. .
The system has been turned upside down for City, which has the habit of rolling its opponents in the interior of the country.
But if one point was not enough to secure the first place, it confirms the qualification of the Champions League for the Blues, reserving its place in the draw for the month of December for the last match.
Regarding the manager, mission accomplished.
"Personally, qualifying for the last 16 games is the happiest day between August and December, because we can now play against the Premier League and the Cups and prepare for February," he said.
"We need the team to face the top 16 teams in Europe."
The exaltation of Guardiola during qualifying is underscored by the strength of competition. The cities were favorites in every game they played and the bookies were the favorites to win the tournament before the ball was kicked.
Making Lyon one of the best teams he has faced – he said the same thing about Napoli last season – the manager talked about the competitiveness of the league.
"The Champions League showed me again that the competition was different," he said.
"The players are better, so when you press and you do something, they do not lose the ball, they make an extra pass, the demands are so high, they have weapons on the shots they are stopped, they are so strong in defense, they have a quality ahead. " That 's why, when people say it' s easy for Manchester City in the Champions League, you can not imagine how confused people are.
"You do not have the time, you can lose matches in the Premier League and still have 38 matches, here the quality is huge for 90 and 180 minutes, they punish your mistakes, it's a completely different competition. Let's play at 38 In the games with the best teams of the CL, we would have time, but mentally, it's completely different.
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"After losing the first game here, it was no surprise, we still have one game and in February we'll be there, another year for City and we can now focus on the Premier League and other competitions and try to arrive in February with everyone is fit and ready to face the 16 best teams in Europe. "
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