Guardiola insists City found their 'soul' in crucial comeback win over Brugge

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City found their soul again in coming back against Club Bruges to squeeze into the Champions League playoffs.

But City’s European campaign gets no easier, with giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid lying in wait after a night when Aston Villa secured a top eight finish and progression straight into the last 16.

Morgan Rogers struck a memorable hat-trick for Villa in beating Celtic 4-2 and City needed to come from behind to edge past Bruges.

‘We were 45 minutes away from being out,’ Guardiola said. ‘We were out but when you play with nothing to lose, you go forward.

‘Sometimes when you’re winning you’re scared of what you could lose. We had nothing to lose. In the second half we lifted our soul and our hearts were free.’

An annual meeting with Real or a reunion with former captain Vincent Kompany is on the horizon in a fortnight and Guardiola is upbeat about his side’s prospects.

City can register three new signings for the knockout stages to give more energy to an ageing squad.

‘All of them are better than us right now but I don’t know what will happen in two weeks,’ the Catalan added.

‘We take nothing for granted. In two weeks we’ll be better than we are. New signings, players will come back. We’ll see how we arrive.

‘I don’t know if they are happy to play against us. We’ll face them. One is the king of the competition, the other is the second or third king.

‘My wish was to have the team back, fit. We played this competition with a thousand problems. Tomorrow the mindset, the vibes, change and I’m pretty sure we will create problems to Madrid or Munich. These players have something special.’

Two fire services were called out to extinguish a blaze of a merchandise stand pre-match, with supporters told to leave the area on the forecourt and turnstiles closed.

Guardiola added: ‘When I saw the fire before the game and the score at half time, the journalist had their headlines already.’

Meanwhile at Villa Park, Rogers claimed it was the crowning night of his short career.

‘Definitely the highlight of my career so far,’ the England international said.

‘It's a crazy experience and a crazy game to be a part of. It's a massive achievement and we should be proud of ourselves. We've got the hunger and the drive and we've got a manager who pushes us every day.’