The title is back in City’s hands.
How confident are you that it could still change?
Yeah that’s a possibility.
That’s the reality now. It’s been the same for a few months.
We knew this moment could come and now it’s about reacting and keeping believing and doing what we can do.
How important is it to make sure the season doesn’t fizzle out now?
If one result is going to do that then we are not strong enough. That’s very simple.
We had one of the best performances that we’ve had all season in the first half against a really good team. It should have been three or four or more.
It didn’t happen. In the second half the momentum shifted.
We could not control and generate what we did in the first half. We conceded two very poor goals and we lost the game.
Congratulate the opponent and stand up. Now the moment is to stand up and be counted.
When you win and win and win for four months it’s very simple to do it. The moment to do it is now.
Are you confident you have the leaders in the squad to turn it around?
We don’t have any other solution. If you want to win championships, if you want to be there in the Champions League, when you have these moments you have to stand up.
If not that means that you don’t have a quality that is very necessary.
Now it’s a big test for us.Why did Trossard start?
Because I am the manager and I decide the line up.
Why was there such a change of momentum in the second half?
We were struggling to regain the ball in the areas that we did in the first half.
Then we lacked a lot of composure.
We rushed things with the ball so we never had enough sequences to get them in the areas that we wanted like we did in the first half. Credit to them as well.
But I think we lacked quite a lot of things in the second half and the game became more stretched and more even without a lot of things happening.
Then when we conceded the goal that was a really big blow.
The second one even bigger in the manner that it happened.Do you think you were lacking energy, because it seemed like Villa had more?Obviously the result is a key indicator as well. When you score a goal and you have to dig in.
We made the changes, we brought energy, that was just in the moment that those two moments occurred.
When you lose you have to recognise the qualities of the opponents as well.
How are the players now?
After losing any game they are frustrated and sad.
But we have a beautiful opportunity that hasn’t happened for 14 years in this club to go to the semi-finals of the Champions League. It couldn’t come in a better moment.
