City had to dig deep in the face of fierce Atletico pressure during what proved a tense second half at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium
But we held firm to secure a 1-0 aggregate quarter-final win and so earn a place in the semi-final against Real Madrid.
And reflecting on the performance, Guardiola was at pains to salute the discipline and mental fortitude of his side in the face of what was a determined challenge from the La Liga champions.
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“This is the third time in our history we are in the semi-finals. We are in the semi-finals and for our club that is an incredible achievement,” declared the City boss.
“Absolutely (I am pleased with our mental strength).
“We defended everything. But if they had scored in the last action would the mental strength not be there?
“In this stadium in this competition it is always difficult. It is a big compliment for the players.
“We cannot expect every time to make everything marvellous. We have to suffer.
“I am proud because the opponent was really good. We tried to take the ball but were not able.
“With the people and chances, they had they could have scored a goal.
“They pushed us a lot, they were excellent second half. We forgot to play and we were in big, big trouble. They had chances to score, the second half we had just one.
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“The first half was pretty good. They came out aggressively, we had one or two clear chances.
“In the second half of the second leg they were much better but at the same time we defended with everything.
“When a team plays like that we could not have the ball and our build-up was in danger. It is 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League, we are not used to being in this competition much.”
