Pep Guardiola says his team has to be patient in their game against most sides in the English top flight.
What did Pep Guardiola say?
The Spanish manager named the only PL teams that try to attack Man City instead of sitting in the back. Pep inherited the management reins at Etihad Stadium back in 2015 and has since delivered 10 domestic trophies including three PL titles. The city has become a dominant force in English football under the Spaniard, who claims there are only a few sides that dare to go with the champions.
Pep is accustomed to going up against low block teams and looking for opportunities to counter, with the Man City manager only identifying five top flying clubs that are using more adventurous tactics. After his team’s 1-0 victory in Everton on Saturday, Pep Guardiola told reporters that maybe they are provoking them, but most of them, except for Liverpool, Pep would say, Brighton he would say, Arsenal at some points he would say …let him think about it, maybe he’s forgetting someone.
Aston Villa, they played there a little too. There are moments when they did it – but as a principle, when they do a good extension, they sit. Leeds, too. The rest are sitting on their hands. Honestly, Pep doesn’t say anything bad. Every manager, every team can do whatever they want, absolutely. It’s in their hands how to break them – teams that push hard, how to do it, and when teams sit back, how they should do it. According to Pep Guardiola one of the principles is to be patient, don’t give up on goals, don’t give up deep runs from them, resist attacks and be patient and at the right moment they can do it. Let’s keep doing it like this.
They have learned from this in the past
Man City’s latest win saw them regain their six-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the PL, albeit by playing a game more. Pep is adamant they can’t afford any mistakes in their title defense bid due to the Reds’ consistency, but hopes its players won’t let themselves be complacent. Pep Guardiola added that this is not the first time they have been in this situation and they have learned from it in the past. That if they want to be a champion in the PL, against this opponent – Liverpool, they are not going to drop points – they have to do their job.