Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola joked by stating that he would field “nine strikers” to finish off RB Leipzig in the Champions League last 16 second leg.

City were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their round of 16 match in Germany on Wednesday, with Riyad Mahrez’s opening goal being cancelled out by a header from Josko Gvardiol.

“I didn’t want to come here and lose 4-3. It will have to be more open in Manchester,” said Guardiola who coached Bayern Munich to Bundesliga titles in each of his three years in Germany and said City “could not compete” with the speed of German teams.

“We don’t have the team to compete with them with a lot of transitions, they are better than us and they are faster than us, except Kyle (Walker) and Erling (Haaland).

“The pace they have, we don’t have it.”

Guardiola added: “Maybe in the second leg I will be crazy and decide to play with nine strikers. But I’ve coached in this country and I analysed Leipzig and I needed this type of control.”

After the final whistle, the City manager gathered his team on the field for an impromptu motivational speech in an effort to lift their spirits.

“They had their heads down, I told them ‘Why are your heads down, put your heads up,” the Spanish manager told the post-match press conference.

“It was a really good game the game you played. If people don’t like it, it doesn’t matter, you played the game the way it should be played.”

Photo by EPA/Filip Singer