Pep Guardiola has branded it a final, but not the sort to which he is accustomed. Not like in 2009 or 2011 or 2023, with the glory it brought. Or even 2021, when taking Manchester City to what was then uncharted territory for them still qualified as an achievement.
Now the finality would bring only failure. Some thought City’s Champions League campaign would end in Munich on 31 May, perhaps against Bayern or Barcelona, not in Manchester in January against Brugge. City haven’t gone out in a Champions League group stage since 2012-13, their final season under Roberto Mancini. Guardiola hasn’t since he was a Barcelona player in 2000-01, when they finished below Leeds United.
