Spanish Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, spoke at the press conference before his team's match against Turkish Galatasaray on Wednesday evening in the eighth and final round of the league stage in the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026, emphasizing the importance of the match, the return of his former players, and the role of the team's fans.

Guardiola commented on the team's ranking: "I would have preferred to get more points, but we deserve 13 points."

He continued about the goal difference: "We will see the result five or ten minutes after the end of the match, and then we will have to wait."

About Bernardo Silva: "Bernardo Silva? He is a natural player, he does what the game dictates, a naturally enjoyable player, we admired him a lot when we played against Monaco, yes he is a good dribbler, I like it when he has the ball, he has shown consistency in tough moments thanks to his behavior, I expected him to be an excellent player, he has never been injured and has an amazing ability to recover and play."

Regarding Haaland's participation: "Haaland starting and his absence from scoring? I didn't have dinner with him last night, so I don't know, they have to play better and create more chances, and they will score, I am not good at managing players, I haven't spoken to them in the past three years."

About the upcoming match: "I will try to win tomorrow, all Turkish league players are special, we need our fans' support to give us more than we can offer."

On the return of Gundogan and Sané: "Not bad at all, they contributed greatly to the club's success, it's great they are back because they are fantastic, Gundogan was here a little longer than Sané, but they were both great, Gundogan had a special relationship with Kevin De Bruyne, he has a strong personality similar to Bernardo."

Regarding previous criticisms from referees: "They defend him, and I understand that, I have to defend my team, I have great respect for referees, analysts defend them but I defend my players, I know they are overly sensitive, you can write an article about this, look at the last ten years, defeats in the FA Cup final, and the Crystal Palace goalkeeper crisis, after the match, I never criticized them, they defend the referees and that's their duty, I know it's not easy."

On defending the team: "Over ten years, in the Champions League, the FA Cup, and the Premier League, I haven't done it, everyone defends their position, when you are given six minutes for a disallowed goal in the Carabao Cup, I have to say it, we have to defend ourselves."

About the atmosphere at the Etihad Stadium: "They have a distinctive culture, I have never faced Turkish teams away and I wish it very much, I know their atmosphere is great but every club has its own culture."

Regarding the league race with Arsenal: "I tell the players to focus on what we have to do, if you are content with just competing, we won't be good, we can perform better to win games, know that this championship is very difficult."

On facing Galatasaray: "The hardest thing is their quality, Osimhen is a top-class player, both wings have incredible speed and they have experienced players, it is one of the biggest clubs in Turkey."