Though Ilkay Gundogan’s second half goal was cancelled out by Shakhtar substitute Manor Solomon’s late leveller, City still secured top spot with a game to spare.
And the manager said the qualifying for the last 16 once again was as a source of great pride but also acknowledged the hard work in Europe still lay ahead.
“It’s seven years we have qualified for the knockout stages and it means a lot,” said Guardiola.
READ: Gundogan | Shakhtar fightback a useful experience
WATCH: Fernandinho | City’s Mr Versatile
“The competition in February will be completely different and tougher.
“But I’m delighted to be in the next round. We qualify and we played well in the second half. The second half was better than the first. We conceded only a few counter attacks.
“Tottenham have gone through again and maybe in the next draw all the four English sides will be there
“I’ve played against Shakhtar Donetsk many times and they always have quality players. In general, we created chances but the draw was enough in the end.
“Now we have one competition already done, and now our focus will be the Premier League, until we arrive in the cups. The target was to qualify and we have done it.”.”
City will wrap up our group stage fixtures with a trip to take on Dinamo Zagreb next month.
And though top spot is now assured, the boss insisted he would take a strong squad out to Croatia and would be seeking to wrap up the group stages with a win.
“Of course, I will take a look in the Premier League and we will take enough players to Zagreb,” Guardiola insisted.
“It is the Champions League and it is prestigious.
“I remember last season we were already qualified against Shakhtar and we are going to travel to Zagreb with the intention to win.
“You need a sense of a real urgency to take the result and win the game, We have to do it.”
