Pep preaches patience as City grinds out slender advantage

Pep Guardiola praised Manchester City's patience after Kevin De Bruyne broke Atletico Madrid's stubborn resistance to clinch a 1-0 win in Tuesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg.

Guardiola's side spent much of the night banging its head against the red and white wall of Atletico's massed defense at Etihad Stadium.

But Guardiola sent on Phil Foden midway through the second half and his sublime pass teed up De Bruyne to finally reward City for its territorial dominance.

"I didn't expect to win three or four nil. I knew who we were facing. They have been together for many years," Guardiola said.

"They defend so well, so compact and so deep. We were patient. You have to be against these teams. They want you to be anxious.

"It's a good result. Unfortunately we had a couple more chances with Kevin to score again."

While Guardiola launched a water bottle in a frenzied celebration that underlined what a testing night it had been for his team, the City boss knows the tie is far from over.

"Even a 1-0 lead going to Madrid is tough," Guardiola said.

"We have to control our emotions. It will be a good test for us, our maturity. We will try to score and win the game."

At the start of a season-defining 11 days for treble-chasing City－which hosts title rival Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday－this was a qualified success that justified its patient performance.

But Atletico has already knocked out Manchester United in the last 16 this season, while Liverpool fell victim to Diego Simeone's side when the Reds were the holders in 2019-20.

The Spanish champion will believe it can cause another surprise in the second leg in Madrid on April 13.

"It's clear we were playing against an extraordinary opponent. We have to use a great way of defending and without being embarrassed," Simeone said.

"We need to be better, see if we can have the ball a bit more in the second leg. Perhaps we can create more difficulties. We are still in the tie."

City has no margin for error over the next two weeks as the Premier League leader hosts Liverpool, just a point behind it in the title race, on Sunday.

It heads to Madrid next week before facing Liverpool again in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley three days later.

Foden shines

Guardiola has often been criticized for his curious team selections in previous Champions League knockout-stage defeats with City.

However, the Spaniard's game-changing decision to introduce Foden should silence a few critics after it turned a difficult evening into a vital victory.

"When the game was a little bit flat, we knew we could change it with the substitutes," Guardiola said.

"Phil has a special quality. He had the composure to make an incredible assist and Kevin is in the best moment of his season."

As ever, City monopolized possession, yet often the home side found itself shuffling passes across midfield before Atletico shut the door.

Simeone's famously pragmatic approach presented a stark contrast to the purist principles espoused by Guardiola.

Gradually, City rose to the challenge and Ilkay Gundogan went close with a curling shot that deflected wide off Stefan Savic soon after the interval.

De Bruyne's freekick finally forced Jan Oblak's first save, while Raheem Sterling dragged an effort well wide from a dangerous position moments later.

When Aymeric Laporte headed wastefully over from Riyad Mahrez's corner, Guardiola had seen enough and he sent on Foden, Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus.

Foden's arrival was an inspired move as the England forward played a key role when City at last broke through in the 70th minute.

Taking possession outside the Atletico area, Foden shimmied away from two defenders and slipped a precise pass to De Bruyne, who timed his run perfectly to drill a low strike into the far corner from a tight angle.

AFP