Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola claims that facing moments of adversity in the Champions League knockout stages will have helped his team prepare mentally for Saturday’s final showdown with Chelsea.

Speaking ahead of the big match in Porto, Pep Guardiola stated that moments in which the players suffered against Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter and semi-finals were good experiences for the squad.

“Yeah absolutely, but it’s a final and it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen tomorrow. We suffered in the first-half against PSG and Dortmund. But we stuck together,” Guardiola said.

The boss was also quick to point out just how evenly matched his squad is with Thomas Tuchel’s resurgent Chelsea side. In Guardiola’s opinion, no one team will have a clear upper hand in Porto.

“Tomorrow we will not have 90 minutes one side dominate, we are going to suffer but when we get momentum we will have to use it,” Guardiola said.
“I’m the happiest man in the world to be here. It is a privilege. We will try our best and a good advertisement for football.”

Interestingly, Manchester City and Chelsea have faced off twice in recent months, with Chelsea coming out on top on both occasions.