Guardiola: Man City not ready for Champions League triumph

Pep Guardiola has dampened expectations of Manchester City going on to win the Champions League, claiming his team are "not ready" and "far away".

City moved fourth in the 36-team standings by claiming a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Rodrygo put Madrid ahead at the Santiago Bernabeu, but goals from Nico O'Reilly and Erling Haaland completed the comeback before half-time.

City held Madrid at arm's length after the interval, with Los Blancos failing to register another shot on target, but Guardiola does not believe that means his team should be considered among the favourites to win the tournament.

He told TNT Sports: "We are not ready. We are away. In February, we will be better.

"These kinds of games, we have been here before and played better and lost. The players made a big effort but we still have much to improve.

"Could be better. So difficult here. Four or five players played for the first time here. Winning here, we have to be happy in terms of points, especially. We have 13 and it's in our hands to finish in the top eight. That's the target."

According to Opta's supercomputer, City have a 10.3% chance of winning their second European crown.

Haaland converted the winner from the penalty spot, after he was fouled by Antonio Rudiger. The 25-year-old has now scored 55 Champions League goals, while he has netted 51 times in the 50 matches he has started in the competition.

"His numbers speak for themselves," Guardiola said of Haaland.

"We have to find him more, he has to be involved in the game. In the last couple of games he hasn't been in the game, so we have to find a way to find him more."

This was City's first away win in the Champions League after falling 1-0 behind since April 2021, when they beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1.

"Difficult to come here, it's a tough place," Haaland told TNT Sports. "The game was a bit chaotic, we couldn't really control it. 

"This is a place you want to play, these are games you want to play. With this new format in the Champions League, you get to play more games, which is nice. I like it.

While Haaland proved decisive, Madrid's talisman Kylian Mbappe was not deemed fit enough to feature from the bench as he nurses a muscular injury.

Asked if it was a boost not to go up against Mbappe, Haaland said: "We know about their injuries, we have some too but they have many.

"You don't want anyone to be injured but we expected him to play. I expected to come up against Kylian today. But when a player like that is out, you're not happy because you want to play the best, but it gives you a bit of a psychological boost."