Champions League: Pep Guardiola has a plan to thank Mourinho

Europe 29 January 2026 at 11:16

Joshua SOSSOU

News Editor

Thanks to Benfica, Manchester City secured their spot in the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola wants to thank José Mourinho.

After defeating Galatasaray at home last night (2-0) in the Champions League, Manchester City clinched the last direct ticket to the knockout stage. While the Cityzens pulled off one of the best moves in the standings, it was all made possible by José Mourinho's Benfica beating Real Madrid (4-2).

After the match, Pep Guardiola revealed that he intends to thank his former La Liga rival. "Yes, of course. We didn’t know Benfica needed a goal to qualify, so when we saw the goalkeeper go up, we wondered: 'Why is he going up? Stay in your goal, because Real Madrid could equalize and then you’ll be knocked out.' But it was a good strategy from José, wasn’t it?" said the Sky Blues manager.