MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola has praised the spirit and desire of his Manchester City players after their last-gasp win against Wolves as he prepares for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Sparta Prague.
City, unbeaten this season, go into the game buoyed by John Stones’ 95th-minute winner at Molineux on Sunday, which kept them on the shoulders of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The 2023 European champions have four points from their first two games in the group stage of the revamped Champions League after a 0-0 draw with Inter Milan and a 4-0 win against Slovan Bratislava.
City, who have won four consecutive Premier League titles, are playing in European football’s elite club competition for the 14th straight season.
Guardiola, speaking Tuesday at his pre-match press conference, said the manner of the win at Wolves and the way his men celebrated showed their enduring hunger.
“How we celebrate when a team now is in the position in the bottom (Wolves), how we celebrate in October, not in May or April like it’s happened, I feel the team still have the passion,” he said.
“How we celebrate in the locker room, I still feel ‘OK, they still want it, still we are there’ and that means a lot to me, a lot.
“They know, the team, how difficult it is to be consistent for six, seven years. You can be consistent for a month, for a season, but six, seven years and still now we are there. All the teams go down, still we are in that position.”
Guardiola said he was “more than happy” with how his team were coping in the absence of key midfielder Rodri, who has been ruled out of the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The City boss said it was important to make home advantage count against their Czech opponents, with tough away trips to come to Sporting Lisbon, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
The new-look league format for this season’s competition means only the top eight teams out of 36 automatically qualify for the knockout stages after the initial eight-match schedule.
“It is not easy,” said Guardiola. “The games we have at home we have to close it, otherwise it’ll be difficult to finish in the first eight and that’s the target we want to achieve.”
Guardiola applauds Man City mentality ahead of Sparta Prague test
https://arab.news/rfj2r
Guardiola applauds Man City mentality ahead of Sparta Prague test
- Guardiola said the manner of the win at Wolves and the way his men celebrated showed their enduring hunger
- “How we celebrate when a team now is in the position in the bottom (Wolves), how we celebrate in October, not in May or April like it’s happened“
4 advance to quarterfinals at Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
- Samsonova, Kessler, Baptiste and Tauson all win, while Eala and Tjen progress in drama-filled doubles
ABU DHABI: Four WTA stars have reached the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open at Zayed Sports City, while Filipina hotshot Alex Eala, alongside Janice Tjen, won a thrilling doubles encounter which went down to a super tiebreak.
On Tuesday, in the singles, seven-time WTA Tour title winner Liudmila Samsonova eliminated Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in straight sets and McCartney Kessler knocked out the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open reigning singles champion Leylah Fernandez.
In the evening, Hailey Baptiste won an all-American clash against Emma Navarro to book her spot in the quarterfinals.
Baptiste said: “It feels really good to progress to the quarters. The atmosphere was great and there’s some fans here from back home in Washington D.C. which is awesome.”
On the doubles side, there was a full crowd on court one to witness Eala and Tjen overcame Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic in dramatic fashion. The match went down to a super tiebreak and the popular Asian duo came out on top in front of an ecstatic crowd.
Away from the courts, students enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at sports physiotherapy as Aliaksandra Sasnovich visited Healthpoint Hospital to explore equipment used in the treatment and prevention of sports injuries.
The day included an exclusive meet-and-greet, with students taking photos with Sasnovich before gathering at the Stadium Court to soak up the atmosphere.
Nadiia Kichenok visited the Healthpoint booth, where she took part in a sports injury health quiz, posed for photos, and signed merchandise and tennis balls for fans.
In addition, there was a Special Olympics Clinic for an hour in the evening and activities at the tournament village with stilt walkers and live music.
Nigel Gupta, tournament director, said: “It was another wonderful day at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, with huge crowds and a fantastic atmosphere throughout the venue.
“Fans have even more to look forward to tomorrow, with defending champion Belinda Bencic making her tournament debut and crowd favorite Alexandra Eala aiming to book her place in the quarterfinals in the closing match of the day.”
Wednesday is the International Girl and Women in Sports Day, appropriately timed with a strong schedule on Stadium Court. Olympic gold medalist Bencic faces British qualifier Sonay Kartal, and Eala takes on Sasnovich.
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open runs until Feb. 7.
