Pep Guardiola was proud of the way his Manchester City side kept their heads against an aggressive Atletico Madrid to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals.
A goalless draw at the Wanda Metropolitano was good enough to send City through to the last four, though they had to come through some nervy moments.
Felipe was sent off for Atletico late on as a brawl broke out involving both benches, while four City players were booked in stoppage-time as they did desperately held on.
Rio Ferdinand was among those who slammed the behaviour of the Atletico players, which continued into the tunnel post-match, but Guardiola insisted his side were fully aware what would be in store for them.
“In the second-half they were better than us, we were lucky we didn’t concede,” Guardiola admitted.
“In the first-half we had the chances to do it, but overall we are in the semi-finals. It’s well deserved.
“The opponent is so tough, all the teams in the Champions League comes here an suffer. We knew that and we go through.”
When pressed on whether Atletico crossed the line with their antics in the final 15 minutes, Guardiola refused to engage with the question.
“Nothing to say,” the City boss responded.
City will return to Madrid in the semi-finals, when they face Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid after they edged past Chelsea in a thrilling tie.
A defeat in last season’s final is as close as City have ever come to winning the competition and they will hope to go one better in May, which could be part of a historic treble.
“Today we are going to celebrate at home, because it’s the third time in Manchester City’s history that we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League,” Guardiola said.
“It’s not much, so for us it’s a big success and we’re happy to be there.”
