Pep Guardiola Reveals Why Man City's Loss to Tottenham Was Better Than a 0-0 Draw

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claimed that the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League on Tuesday was a better result than a 0-0 draw, because they now 'know exactly' what they need to do.

The Citizens dominated the ball for large parts of the game but struggled to create many chances. Sergio Aguero missed a penalty, before Son Heung-min struck on the counter to give Spurs a memorable victory.

Speaking in his post-match press conference (via Goal journalist Sam Lee), Guardiola insisted he was incredibly happy with City's performance.

He said: “We played an incredible game, we conceded absolutely few [chances]. We controlled the game, we made them run a lot. I don’t have the feeling we played bad, especially the second half how well we played. But the result is not good.

“Except a few chances at set-pieces and some counter-attacks we controlled the game. We are going to try, at home, with our fans, with our families. We would like to score a goal but the situation is what it is. When we are not good I say but I don’t have that feeling.

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“Sometimes 1-0 is better than 0-0 as you know exactly what you need to do. Of course in football you analyse the result and that’s not a good perspective for us. Maybe when I analyse the game I’ll change my mind but I feel we played well."

Guardiola was also forced to answer questions about his team selection. Ilkay Gundogan was preferred over Kevin De Bruyne, and the Belgian did not enter the game until the 89th minute, alongside fellow substitute Leroy Sane.

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He insisted: “I decide to play with two holding midfielders. [Fitness] is not the issue. I know it’s tough for [De Bruyne]. 

"We have the second leg, we spoke about that. We have 180 minutes, we played to score but we couldn’t. It looks complicated but we will try."