‘We could’ve avoided it!’ – Pep Guardiola reminisces on Champions League defeats to Real Madrid, Monaco and Tottenham

Pep Guardiola has looked back on Champions League defeats in seasons gone by when discussing the subject of goalscoring after the 7-0 win over RB Leipzig.

Erling Haaland’s five-goal haul against the high-flying Bundesliga side on Tuesday night secured Manchester City’s place in the last-eight of the competition with an aggregate 8-1 scoreline dismissing Marco Rose’s challenge.

The Norwegian notched a first-half hat-trick to put the tie beyond any doubt, and continue his goalscoring antics into the second-half, accompanied by fine efforts from both Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne.

In a competition that the 22 year-old has openly admitted to loving, many believe that the football mega-star could now be the difference maker for Manchester City, in their pursuit of a first trophy in Europe’s premier club competition.

However, speaking after another sensational night at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League, manager Pep Guardiola was asked about this very possibility – an idea that the Catalan coach strongly rejected.

The City boss reminisced on some of his side’s memorable defeats in the competition’s knock-out stages, highlighting the fact that in all of those ties, the scoring of goals has never been an issue.

“I don’t think so. The reason why we conceded a lot of goals (is because) we give them to the opponent,” said Pep Guardiola.

“We scored four goals here against Real Madrid, we scored years ago six goals against AS Monaco, we scored four goals here against Tottenham, and all the time we were out. Because we conceded goals, we could’ve absolutely avoided it.

The City manager continued, “Right now, these guys, they defend really well. They are defenders, and that’s why. Goals, always we have scored, all the time, in all the seasons. But of course, we have a weapon like Erling (Haaland) or Julian (Alvarez), like we had with Sergio (Aguero) before or Gabriel (Jesus) – who has this instinct to score goals. Of course, in this competition, in one moment he can score, it’s important.”

Erling Haaland’s five-goal haul capped off a record-breaking night on various fronts, with his manager labelling him as not only being “an incredible guy”, but also a “serial winner” – a trait that could drive Manchester City onto bigger things in the coming seasons.

“Five (goals) in almost 60 minutes, no more than that (to say). If he played maybe 90 minutes, who knows what he could do! He’s an incredible guy, his power, an incredible mentality. He’s a serial winner. Really good.”

Haaland and his Manchester City teammates will now look towards the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday afternoon, as the Etihad Stadium welcomes club legend Vincent Kompany with his Championship-leading Burnley squad.