Pep Guardiola’s Man City are through to the Champions League last-16
Pep Guardiola has promised to thank old rival Jose Mourinho for doing his Manchester City side a huge favour in the Champions League.
Man City, after losing to Bodo/Glimt in their penultimate fixture of the league phase, knew they had to beat Galatasaray and rely on results elsewhere going in their favour to avoid a knockout phase play-off.
Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki were both on target as City beat the Turkish side 2-0 on Wednesday night, thus living up to their end of the bargain.
However, with Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea and Sporting CP all winning to secure a top eight finish, Man City’s qualification hopes were left hanging in the balance at full-time.
This is because Real Madrid were trailing away at Benfica and needed an equaliser to send Guardiola’s side into the play-offs.
Instead, Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin sparked jubilant scenes inside the Estadio da Luz with the last kick of the game as his header earned a 4-2 win for the hosts.
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Not only was the goal was enough to keep Benfica in the competition, at the expense of Marseille, it also meant Man City finished eighth and will now avoid two extra games next month.
Guardiola has revealed that the City squad watched the closing stages of the Benfica game inside the dressing room, admitting his initial confusion at Trubin going up for the final action.
"Yeah of course,” the Spaniard said when asked if he would be contacting Mourinho to say thanks. “We were all there (in the dressing room), and we didn't know Benfica need a goal to qualify.
"So when their goalkeeper goes up, we said, 'why you go'? But it was a good strategy for Jose.
“Finishing in the top eight, considering how the Champions League has become, every team is really really tough, so we are really pleased.
“Hopefully we can arrive in March in our best form."
Interestingly, both Benfica and Real Madrid are two of Man City’s potential opponents in the last-16, along with Inter Milan and Bodo/Glimt.
The draw for the Champions League knockout phase play-offs will take place on Friday, January 30, 2026, with the last-16 draw taking place at the end of February.