Josko Gvardiol breaks ranks with Pep Guardiola to offer telling insight into Man City dressing room

Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City's must-win fixture with Club Brugge on Wednesday is a 'final', but played down the idea that his side have turned a corner with a run of just one defeat in nine in 2025.

Guardiola was trying to get his players into a mindset that ensures they beat Brugge and secure the win they need to finish in the top 24 of the Champions League League Phase, knowing anything else will see City crash out before the knockouts.

And while he challenged his players to take the 'opportunity' of the situation rather than see it as a 'problem', Guardiola emphatically shut down the idea that City's weekend win over Chelsea means they are turning their pre-Christmas form around.

"No, not yet. It's only a few games," he replied before moving on, not keen to discuss the matter further, before later adding: "[We must be] completely relaxed, no emotion and understand the game. These type of games you need something special - something that has not been enough this year in the Champions League."

And with that, Guardiola was gone to hammer home that message to his players in their final training session before Wednesday's showdown.

But defender Josko Gvardiol offered a slightly off-script view of City's recent form as he smiled his way through his own press conference.

He told reporters that the PSG defeat last week was difficult as City paid the price for chasing a game-killing third goal before conceding four themselves to lose, and he admitted that 'control' was the better option in hindsight. But he also repeated that he felt the squad's confidence is 'quite good', and the group is 'in a good way'.

He said: "There is still feeling [that the season can be a success]. The season is still long. There are so