KING OF THE CHILL

Pep’s so relaxed about quarter-final as preparation has gone perfectly.. so he has spent his time drinking great wine and eating top food in Cascais

PEP GUARDIOLA made it sound like his Manchester City players have been doing nothing more strenuous than eat, drink and be merry.

But when City bunkered down in their Cascais bolthole, 20 miles outside Lisbon on Monday night, he was encouraged to see that his squad were ready to get straight down to the business of winning the Champions League.

Training sessions, always highly competitive, have been cranked up another notch.

Drills have been performed to perfection – and then repeated some more.

At night, Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling (top right) and Co have been tucking into the local seafood.

They have even been allowed to have the odd glass of Vinho Verde with dinner.

But the belief inside the camp is that the only way City could be better prepared for their bid to become European champions for the first time is if Sergio Aguero (bottom right) had won his battle for fitness.

After a knee injury, the club’s record goalscorer will watch his team-mates take on Lyon in tonight’s quarter-final from a hotel room in Barcelona, as he continues his rehabilitation in the hope he can play some part later in the tournament.

But after 10 years of failing to make any real mark on the biggest club competition in football, it feels like City are finally ready.

And despite his relaxed demeanour, the spark in Guardiola’s eyes was unmistakable.

He said: “I want to see my team show who they are. I want them to do everything they always try to do from in their soul and minds.

“After that, the football will dictate whether we deserve it or not.

It’s as simple as that.

“I am so proud of the team and I can say that the way they have behaved, especially in this last two or three weeks, has been incredibly focused.

“We have eaten well, we have drunk good wine at night – and we have worked a lot.

“We have looked at Lyon and tried to discover their secrets – but now is the time to be ourselves.”

Tonight’s face-off will indicate whether the 4-2 aggregate victory over Real Madrid to seal a place in this unique minitournament was indeed a breakthrough moment.

The fact that Paris Saint-Germain will meet RB Leipzig in one semi-final suggests there has been a huge shift in European football’s landscape away from the old elite. City have only reached the last four once before – when Manuel Pellegrini’s side lost 1-0 to Madrid in 2016 without laying a glove on the Spaniards. Under Guardiola, they have never gone past the quarter-finals – and the Catalan is aware his own reputation has also come under growing scrutiny in the nine years since he led Barcelona to their second European title in three seasons.

The City manager cast a knowing smile and he added: “Every year we have the same question about pressure.

“The pressure is always there – and we will try to do our best like all the other teams.

“I think every year this club is growing – and I’m not just talking about the results.

“The organisation is growing to be solid and sustainable for the future.

“The elite clubs will always be there. Barcelona, Madrid, Bayern Munich, all the big clubs in England and France always will be there.

“But we need this kind of competition and, for just one game, absolutely everything can happen.

“I think this is an important moment for our careers and for our lives as professionals. This is once in a lifetime.

“Now, we will either go back to Manchester, or we can stay in Lisbon for at least four more days.”