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Published : 21 Oct 2025, 12:44 AM
Manchester City's ability to bounce back from bad results has left coach Pep Guardiola very confident going into Tuesday's clash at Villarreal as they look to return to winning ways in the Champions League after being held at AS Monaco this month.
City had a rough start to their Premier League campaign with back-to-back losses in August, but Guardiola's team are unbeaten in eight games across all competitions since then and sit second in the Premier League, three points behind Arsenal.
The 2023 Champions League winners have four points from their two matches in the continental competition and sit in eighth place.
"When we have played just eight Premier League games and two Champions League games. You have the feeling that every game is better than the previous one," Guardiola told reporters on Monday.
"This doesn't define seasons, but we talk a lot about what we can do better. I'm incredibly confident with the players and the team ... these players are capable."
City midfielder Nico Gonzalez echoed the manager's view.
"You can see in the last month, month-and-a-half, that there's a different feeling. Everything is going well ... now I feel like we can do great things," the former Barcelona player said.
Guardiola added that he expected a tough game against Marcelino's Villarreal, although the Spanish side are 26th in the Champions League table with one point from two matches.
"When you see a Marcelino team without knowing that Marcelino is on the bench, you recognise his style of play," said the City manager.
"So when a team manages to go back to the Champions League in a league as competitive as the Spanish, that has to be something.
"I admire and respect him very much, but on the other hand we're really looking forward to playing a good game tomorrow night.
"We score a lot of goals, create a lot of chances and we concede not much but tomorrow is another test."
