Pep eager to 'close a little circle' by completing trophy haul

Pep Guardiola wants to "close a little circle" and add the Club World Cup to Manchester City’s trophy haul. 

City, who claimed a glorious Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup Treble last season, are in Saudi Arabia for the global competition this week. 

They face Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in their semi-final in Jeddah on Tuesday hoping to secure a place in Friday's final and are overwhelming favourites.

Guardiola said: "It's a pleasure to be here, it's an honour. 

"It's the first time Man City are here. That shows how difficult it is. We won't take it for granted. We take it as a privilege. 

"Of course, we want to win it. It is a trophy we don't have. We want to close a little circle, that we have won all the trophies we could do. This is the last one. 

"I don't know if we’ll have another chance. Maybe it is a once in a lifetime. It is difficult to be here. 

"I think the players know it and we are going to try to perform well tomorrow."

City's recent form has been inconsistent with just one win in their last six Premier League games. 

Their latest frustrating result came on Saturday as they were pegged back by two late goals to draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace. 

That left them five points behind leaders Arsenal but Guardiola is not concerned about performances. 

He said: "We would prefer better results but, except the Aston Villa game, our performances were excellent. 

"We have to improve how we finish our games, be more aware of what we have to do in certain moments but hopefully we can maintain our level of passion and desire to play at a high level with and without the ball against Urawa."