JAKARTA - Pep Guardiola has seen Manchester City score to win Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League titles.
However, very few trigger celebrations such as a reaction to Matheus Nunes' winning goal during injury time against Aston Villa.
Nunes who came into the back post to take advantage of Jeremy Doku's cross in the 94th minute to give Manchester City an important 2-1 win.
Guardiola has not forgotten the importance of it. A draw will make his hopes of competing in next season's Champions League a bet.
Now, with four games remaining, they are in top position to finish in the top five.
When goals were created at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola usually turned to signal his family in the stands, behind the bench.
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This time, he clenched his hands, screamed loudly, and ran here and there along the edge of the field.
Nunes shot up towards the corner flag before disappearing under a pile of happy blue T-shirts.
Several defenders Villa fell to their knees. Unai Emery's manager looked up at the sky and then buried his face in his hands.
The Champions League fight was so tight that Villa's win would lift them to fourth in the standings.
Instead, they are in seventh position, and Manchester City sit sweet in third place.
"Of course, this is important. You don't need to be scientists to realize that we played against Aston Villa, one of the best teams, as you saw against Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain."
"I am very happy. We have been in the last four games and are competing the Champions League to qualify."
"Aston Villa is a team that fought until the end, one of the best teams in Europe. We played very well."
"Football is emotional. For supporters, players, we have a lot of pressure for this club to qualify for the Champions League. The players are behaving extraordinary. We are very happy," Guardiola said after the game.
This season is difficult for The Citizens, who may explain Guardiola's excessive celebration.
Nunes only plays as an emergency right-back due to a large number of injuries. On the left-back, there is 20-year-old Nico O'ulikus, who usually plays as a midfielder.
Star players like Erling Haaland and Rodri sit in the stands. Phil Foden, last season's Premier League Player of the Year, was backed up because his performances have declined greatly.
"If you tell me at the start of the season that at the end of the season you are fighting for the FA Cup final or qualifying for the Champions League with Nico and Matheus as full-backs, I'll say what are you talking about?" said Guardiola.
He did not expect sympathy. However, after facing problems after problems, he will still consider the Champions League qualifiers a big win.
Maybe not as big as lifting the Premier League or Champions League trophy, but still important.
His team is in this position due to a series of poor results during November and December 2024.
The spirit of the league champions four times in a row is still not visible. However, they have rediscovered their fighting spirit on time.
In the past three weeks, Manchester City have come from one goal behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1, came from two goals behind Crystal Palace 5-2, and scored twice at the end of the game to win at Everton's home.
The latest goals sent Villa down after Marcus Rashford's penalty equalized after Bernardo Silva's opener.
A four-point lead from sixth-placed Chelsea, they must now continue to collect the points they need in the last four games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Fulham.
Manchester City seem determined to do everything in a difficult way this season. However, they will try hard to get the job done from here.
"The Bournemouth match changed something," Guardiola said when asked about the volatile moon.
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