Pep Guardiola: Manchester City now respected as Champions League contenders

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his side have earned the right to be considered perennial Champions League contenders after easing into the quarter-finals on Wednesday night.

A much-changed City side beat Copenhagen 3-1 in the second leg at the Etihad to claim a 6-2 aggregate victory. Goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez killed the tie as a contest inside 10 minutes before Erling Haaland drilled in his 29th goal of the season.

Mohamed Elyounoussi briefly reduced the Danish champions' deficit to 2-1 on the night, but Copenhagen were outclassed over two legs as the European champions remained on course for another treble.

City conquered Europe for the first time in the club's history last season, but Guardiola acknowledged his side are now seen as favourites for the competition ahead of the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

The English champions have not lost a Champions League game at the Etihad since 2018 and became the first side in the competition's history to score three or more goals in nine consecutive home games.

"The important thing is being there [in the quarter-finals] seven years in a row, it's quite impressive," said Guardiola. "We are well-respected from our opponents. The numbers are there – our consistency.

"I remember when I arrived, we didn't believe, the club didn't believe we could do it because we didn't have the hierarchy in Europe like teams in Spain or Germany. It was a question of time, a process.

"The problem is the managers in modern football don't have time. They gave me time, our hierarchy, so credit to them to accept the process. Now we are a team that believe we can do it."

Guardiola showed he had one eye on Sunday's top-of-the-table Premier League clash at Liverpool