Pep Guardiola praised substitute Savinho for providing the spark to rescue Manchester City’s Champions League campaign after they overturned a first-half deficit to beat Club Brugge 3-1.
City looked set to miss out on the knockout stages for the first time since 2012-13 after conceding to Raphael Onyedika in their must-win league phase encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
They hit back to snatch a place in the play-off round – and book a date with Real Madrid or Bayern Munich – after the introduction of Savinho at the interval changed the tempo of the game.
The Brazilian himself capped the fightback with City’s third goal after Mateo Kovacic had equalised and Joel Ordonez turned into his own net.
City manager Guardiola said: “After I saw the fire before the game, in half-time, I thought the journalists have their headline already, that’s for sure. We had lost. We were out.
“But when you are out, (that’s) when you play (like) you have nothing to lose.
“In the first half, we missed the spark. I think Savinho helped us. Like all season, when he’s played there, he was unbelievable. He changed the game.”
City had been 25th in the standings after a lacklustre campaign in which the team have been dogged by injuries and poor performances.
Asked if he thought they could emulate their 2023 success, he said: “Right now? No. If we had to play tomorrow it would be difficult, but in two weeks I don’t know the position we will be in.
“The players in the locker room said ‘Bayern or Madrid’. It’s OK. We’re going to prepare well and we’re going to be fit. We’ll try it and we see what happens.”
While the prospect of facing Real or Bayern is a daunting one, Guardiola feels after only scraping through his team have no right to expect an easier passage.
“I don’t know if they are happy to play against us but it is what it is. No complaint at all.”
Despite the defeat Brugge also went through as other results went in their favour.
Coach Nicky Hayen said: “I’m proud and I’m also relieved. We were able to present this whole campaign in a positive way, including tonight, and I think we deserve it.”
