Nico Gonzalez revealed Manchester City’s players have held meetings about the importance of securing a Champions League place.
Since qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 2011, City have never been out of European football’s elite club competition. But in this unusually turbulent season for the soon-to-be-deposed champions, the prospect of a season without the Champions League is a real threat for the 2023 winners of the tournament.
This draw meant City failed to climb to fourth spot, and while fifth place should be enough to secure a Champions League place, given the Premier League’s UEFA coefficient ranking, even that is by no means certain. Fourth-placed Chelsea, Newcastle, Brighton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth are within touching distance of City, with midfielder Gonzalez admitting Pep Guardiola’s players are fully aware of the pressure they are under.
“There are still so many games left,” said Gonzalez. “There are nine finals. We’ve talked a lot about this, that there are nine finals left. Every game is a final for us. We talk about the feeling that every game is a final, the feeling that we have to give everything and I think you could see that every player ran and fought for every ball, as if it was the last game of the season.
“We played the game as if it was a final and I’m pretty sure if we play like this, good results will come. Obviously it was difficult, but I think we did a great job, we gave everything and that’s the most important thing. The intensity and the attitude from everyone was perfect, so if we continue to play like this, wins are going to come.
“At City, in every year, in every game, you have to win, you have to give everything, and I don’t care if there are rumours outside. What I care about every game is to fight, to try to win and what people talk about outside of the dressing room, we don’t care.
“I’m so happy to be here. I feel great, I feel amazing to play here, to play in maybe the best team in the last 10 years in the world, so I’m very proud to be here and I try to give everything every day.
“Brighton are a great team, they play really well, they have a lot of talent, a lot of young players and if they’re fighting for the Champions League places, it’s because they’re a really good team and they deserve it, so it was tough.”
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Another January signing, attacker Omar Marmoush, who scored City’s second goal, echoed team-mate Gonzalez about the importance of securing a Champions League spot. “Of course it’s very important for us to be in the Champions League, but we will just keep working,” said Marmoush.
“We will not calculate the positions and everything, we will just keep working, give 100 per cent and just try to win the next games and give our best every game.
“It’s always a challenge coming into a new team, but I think it’s much, much easier coming into a club like this, with the quality of the players on the pitch next to us and the coach of course, helps us a lot. The atmosphere in the club is really amazing and so it helps us to adapt really quickly.”
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