Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Vaishali Bhardwaj

Man City vs Tottenham: Pep Guardiola must not 'self-destruct' like he did against Liverpool last season

Manchester City host Tottenham on Wednesday night knowing the pressure will firmly be on them as they look to advance in this season's Champions League.

After all, this is the one trophy that Pep Guardiola was brought in to win - but, so far, it has eluded the Spaniard at the Etihad Stadium.

At this same stage of the competition last season, City were beaten 3-0 by Liverpool at Anfield but threatened to get back into the tie with an early goal by Gabriel Jesus in the second leg.

But a loss of composure by Guardiola, which saw him sent off, triggered a second-half collapse by City which saw them lose the tie 5-1 on aggregate.

On Wednesday night, Guardiola's men must only overturn a 1-0 deficit against Spurs but City know they must avoid another loss of composure if they are to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

"We know what we have to do, score goals, play as best as possible and we are going to try," Guardiola said.

And that is what City must indeed do or face further questions about their ability to mount a serious Champions League challenge despite the owners investing millions of pounds into the squad.

Watch the video above to see Vaishali Bhardwaj talk to Standard Sport's Football Columnist, Tony Evans, about the lessons Guardiola must learn from last season's elimination by Liverpool as City prepare to face Tottenham.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.