Guardiola was elated after City’s massive triumph, but he later said that he would never be a success at the club because of Julia Roberts’ ties to City’s archrival, Manchester United.

“I am a failure in the Champions League, so don’t worry. Listen, I am going to explain a secret. Whatever happens this year in the Champions League. Even if we win this Champions League and three Champions Leagues in a row, I will be a failure,” said Guardiola.

“I am going to tell you something. I have three idols in my life: Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Julia Roberts. These are my three idols. For obvious reasons, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are good, and Julia Roberts as well.

“Julia Roberts, years ago, came to Manchester. Not in the 1990s when Sir Alex Ferguson was winning titles and titles and titles. This was in the period when we were better than United, these four or five years. She went to visit Man United. She did not come to see us.

“This is why even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare to the fact that Julia Roberts came to Manchester but did not come to see us. Even if I win the Champions League, it will not compare to the disappointment that I had. This you have to know.”

The American actress made a trip to Old Trafford in November 2016 to see Manchester United’s match against West Ham, which ended in a 1-1 draw. A difficult day for the home team was compounded by the dismissal of Jose Mourinho, who had led the Red Devils to victories in that season’s Europa League and EFL Cup competitions. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored an equalizer for Manchester United after Diafra Sakho gave the away team the lead in the second minute.

Roberts is thought to have brought her three children, all of whom are supporters of Manchester United, together with her cinematographer husband, Daniel Moder, to watch the Premier League match. After the game, she and her family went out onto the field, where they were met by Red Devils great Wayne Rooney, his wife Coleen, and former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, who is now managing Middlesbrough in the Championship and trying to get his team promoted.

Erling Haaland smashes more Champions League records

Haaland has scored three more goals than Wayne Rooney in the Champions League despite playing in sixty fewer matches. On yet another night when the striker set a new standard for himself, Erling Haaland became Manchester City’s all-time leader in goals scored in a single season.

The Norwegian scored five goals, including a hat trick in the first half, as City defeated RB Leipzig 7-0 to go to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Since Haaland joined City in the summer of 2022, he has scored 39 goals in a total of 36 matches.

He has surpassed Tommy Johnson, who for 94 years held the record for the most goals scored for City in a single season. And this is just the month of March! “Scoring goals is my great strength,” Haaland said in an interview.

Throughout the course of 12 home Champions League matches, Haaland has racked up 22 goals. His score of five goals against Leipzig tied the record for the most goals in a game played in the Champions League with Lionel Messi’s performance for Barcelona against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 and Luiz Adriano’s performance for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov in 2014.

At 22 years and 236 days old, Haaland is the youngest player to reach the 30-goal mark in the Champions League. The previous record holder, Kylian Mbappe, was 116 days older than Haaland. Haaland has now scored 33 goals in 25 appearances in the Champions League.

In the Champions League this season, Haaland has ten assists, which is more than any City player has ever accomplished in a single season of participation in the Champions League.

The former striker for Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg has scored more goals in the most prestigious tournament in Europe than Wayne Rooney, Kaka, and Samuel Eto’o.

At the raucous Etihad Stadium, Haaland put the ball into the bottom right corner of the net with a penalty kick to get the scoring started.

After that, his next four finishes were the result of him being in the right position at the right time and latching on to rebounds to score five goals in 35 minutes on either side of halftime.

In addition, Haaland finished the first half with a blazing performance, which resulted in him scoring his sixth hat-trick of the season. Haaland was replaced in the 63rd minute.

“I told him [manager Pep Guardiola] I would love to score a double hat-trick but what can I do?” he stated. “I told him I would love to score a double hat trick, but what can I do?”

Who knows what other records he will break in his devastating first season at Manchester City, which might include up to 19 more games played this season.

Guardiola: “I will be evaluated on my Champions League record.”

Since Guardiola took over as manager of City in 2016, the club has won nine major trophies, but they have not been crowned European champions. Guardiola was questioned about whether his tenure at the club will be defined by triumph in Europe’s most prestigious cup tournament.

The 52-year-old Spaniard stated, “That does not imply that I agree with it but, yes, I will be evaluated on that.”

They were saying that I was going to win the Champions League before I even played my first game for City in the tournament.

I responded with “what?” I don’t understand it, but I’m willing to accept it. It doesn’t matter how much pain I put myself through; nothing will make a difference. The most successful run they have had in the Champions League was when they reached the final in 2021, but they were defeated by Chelsea by a score of 1-0.

Last year, a late comeback by Real Madrid stopped City from returning to the final, but in Guardiola’s first four seasons at Etihad Stadium, the club did not get beyond the quarterfinals of the competition.

Manchester City was knocked out of the competition by French teams Monaco and Lyon, and they also suffered agonizing exits against Premier League rivals Liverpool and Tottenham, with the latter coming after the video assistant referee played a significant role in determining the outcome of an exciting second leg that was played at the Etihad Stadium. Without a victory in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola’s time as manager of Manchester City would “not be complete.”

Guardiola, who coached Barcelona to two victories in the Champions League during his tenure there, signed a two-year contract extension in November that runs until 2025 and stated his desire “to remain and continue striving for trophies.”

Guardiola tells De Bruyne to pay attention to the “simple things.”

This season, De Bruyne has recorded 17 assists in only 34 games, which is an increase of three over what the two-time Premier League player of the season accomplished in 45 games during the previous campaign.

Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola has put the Belgian midfielder on the bench for four of City’s last nine games in the Premier League and has instructed the 31-year-old to concentrate on the “basic things” to return to his previous level of play.

If you’re a fan of Manchester City and want to support them in person at their matches, you can buy Manchester City tickets at Seatsnet. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to see Manchester City play live