Manchester City cannot control any outside narratives when it comes to the Champions League, Pep Guardiola admits, as the manager sent a simple instruction to his squad ahead of their last-16 second leg with RB Leipzig: just win the game.
City drew 1-1 in the first leg and with no away goals rule know that the winner of Tuesday's second leg will progress to the quarter-finals. That presents plenty of risk, and should City be knocked out, they should expect plenty of criticism for their failure to win the Champions League yet again.
However, Guardiola said he learned not to dwell too much on any outside noise regarding the Champions League from his first press conference, and urged his players to shut any wider implications of the second leg out of their preparations.
