‘I am so proud of these players’ - Guardiola gives team vote of confidence despite poor performance

Manchester City suffered their seventh defeat of the season and are on the verge of getting eliminated from the Champions League.

The Citizens lost 2-0 to Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night, with the result placing them 22nd on the UCL table.

Their performance has been called into question in recent weeks, with Rio Ferdinand tearing into the team's poor form.

Guardiola has revealed that he is happy with his team's efforts and praised their performance in Italy.

The Man City manager told TNT Sports, via Daily Mail, “We played really, really good. We missed the last action, some transition happens, but I am so proud of these players.

"They gave everything and we tried. It is difficult in Europe. We played really good. We did it really well today. 

We didn’t lose many ball like in the past, we arrived in the positions, but against Italian defensive teams it is not easy, they are masters of this situation. We have two games, we need one point maybe, one victory, the last one is at home. 

“The games versus Inter and Feyenoord we played good, but Sporting and Turin and Paris is really tough and you have to accept it. We will not forget that period when we turn it around and we will appreciate it more.”

With two games left and the top 24 moving on to the next round, the Premier League champions are now ranked 22nd in the Champions League standings.

One of City's encounters will be away from home against Paris Saint-Germain, another struggling team that needs points to qualify.