The English side stuck to their guns to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg to book their place in the competition’s showpiece in Istanbul.
After winning the first leg in Parc des Princes, Manchester City needed to avoid defeat at the Etihad Stadium in order to qualify to the final.
Riyad Mahrez started where he finished off in the first leg by giving the hosts an early lead despite a bright start to the game by PSG.
The Algeria international settled Mauricio Pochettino’s men’s defeat midway through the second half when he met a Phil Foden low cross to smash the ball past Keylor Navas.
Speaking to the media after the game, Guardiola assessed his men’s performance in Europe and insists it is always difficult to reach this stage of the competition.
The Spanish coach backed his claim by giving examples of some of the iconic matches in the Champions League and its fine margins.
“This is remarkable. People believe it’s easy to arrive in the final of the Champions League. Getting to the final now makes sense of what we have done in the past four or five years. Every day these guys have been consistent. We scored a goal through the hips [of the defensive wall] in the first game,” Guardiola said.
“Marquinhos hit the bar in the first half – you can be out for little details. Manchester United won a title because of John Terry’s slip and scored in the last minute against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid won a title against Atletico in the 93rd minute. It’s a competition that is so difficult and something in the stars is involved in that.”
