Pep Guardiola repeated his assertion that possession will win Manchester City their Champions League semi-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
In his pre-match press conference, Guardiola said PSG forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were impossible to defend against, joking he was losing sleep trying to figure a plan to stop them. Instead, he explained how keeping the ball would be City's best chance of getting a positive result to bring back to the Etihad next week.
His starting line-up reflected that theory, with a false nine and a side full of players in form and comfortable in possession.
Speaking to BT Sport before the game, Guardiola explained why he named the same side as the quarter-final second leg at Borussia Dortmund with no recognised striker.
He said: "If we win, it works well, if we don't win, why we don't play with strikers. We need that type of game, lots of passes, the guys have the quality to keep it. In the right moment you have to defend and attack all together.
"We don't think much about the transitions because in the transitions they are so so dangerous. We try to put the players play like we have done these years.
"It's a team [PSG] that wins the league. To do that you impose your games. All the opponents in the French league defend so so deep so you have to find a way to attack them. At the same time have pace they have upfront with Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar. Today Draxler doesn't play from the beginning. They are incredible players who can of course punish you, but in these stages all the teams [can]."
Guardiola also clarified his comments that he wanted his players to enjoy the semi-final experience and treat the trip to Paris like they would a friendly. His point was that he wanted City to be as relaxed as possible in order to play their best football - something he explained on Wednesday night.
He said: "I overexaggerated, of course it's not a friendly. The great players play with responsibility, pressure.
"Like a normal situation. We have a plan, like every game and try to do it, no more than that. Try to be ourselves, play the game, as a team and continue until the end."
