Pep Guardiola admits he will have to calm some nerves ahead of the Champions League final but is more concerned about having to disappoint players by leaving them on the bench.
Man City will face Chelsea in their first ever Champions League final this Saturday in Porto.
Despite being this season’s Premier League and Carabao Cup winners, Guardiola knows the size of the occasion may affect some.
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“I know exactly the way we want to play, with who we’re going to play and I’m not going to bother them much,” he said.
“It’s an incredible experience to be here. I know exactly what I’m going to tell them. The guys who are anxious and nervous, I will tell them that’s normal.
“Some players will go out there with tension, some may struggle, but they have to handle this.
“I’m pretty sure we have to suffer to win the final. It’s nice to say enjoy it but sometimes it’s not possible.
“You have to be resilient and adjust. We will try to be ourselves and do what we can.”
Guardiola, unlike the rest of us, knows exactly who he is going to start in Porto. It will be intriguing to see which forwards are selected out of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez.
When asked about having to bench certain players, Guardiola continued: “Terrible. It’s absolutely (a) disaster. I advise you, don’t be a manager in your life.
“I don’t have any nice words to feel relief about the guys who won’t play, but my advice is to stick with the team. There are five or six substitutions and everybody has a chance.”
One player who is highly likely to make the starting lineup is Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian playmaker has been brilliant yet again this campaign and scored in the final day thrashing of Everton last time out.
Speaking ahead of the all-English final, De Bruyne said: “It’s been one of the goals of the club and one of the goals of the players. To be able to be there and play on the highest stage is a privilege.
“The identity of the team is the same but I think in the difficult moments we didn’t make too many mistakes.
“In the other years, in these types of games, we made one mistake too many and the other teams reacted to it by going ahead and we couldn’t get back.
“In games this year we didn’t concede the goals that we have done in previous years.”
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