LONDON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday that he was convinced that his side could overcome a 1-0 quarter-final first leg deficit against Tottenham Hotspurs to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Heung-Min Son's second half goal leaves City needing to score twice in the Ethiad Stadium on Wednesday night while stopping their rivals (who will be without the injured Harry Kane) scoring, unless they want to avoid having a mountain to climb.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola expressed his confidence that his players would overcome their first leg deficit in the return leg.
"If you ask me what is going to happen, we'll be in the semi-finals; that is what I feel right now. It's what I felt right after the game and when I reviewed the game. Maybe I'm wrong but what I feel now, we'll be in the semi-finals," said Guardiola.
The coach was criticized after last week's defeat for adopting a more defensive style of football that usual at Manchester City, but Guardiola rejected that criticism.
"Football is a never-ending process; sometimes you step forwards, sometimes you step back. Of course this competition (Champions League) is more difficult, but the way we approached it, especially in that game, was good."
"I didn't expect to solve the problem in London (in the first leg). The result is not ideal but it's not a disaster. We are able to score goals and we are going to do it," he said.
Guardiola added that if he was wrong with his predictions and Tottenham qualified for the last four, it wouldn't be the end of the world for his club.
"We'll be sad for one or two days, then we will play for the Premier League and the chance to be champion. We play the final of the FA Cup, and next season we'll be there again; that is for sure," he concluded.
