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
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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“
Sabalenka sets up potential Raducanu showdown at Australian Open
- Sabalenka is favorite to win a third Australian Open in four years, having been defeated in the final 12 months ago by Madison Keys
MELBOURNE: Top seed Aryna Sabalenka set up a potential third-round showdown with Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open after a straight-sets win Wednesday over Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.
The world number one saw off the awkward Bai 6-3, 6-1, having threatened at one stage to complete the job in even more express fashion.
Britain’s 2021 US Open champion Raducanu plays Russia-born Austrian Anastasia Potapova later Wednesday at Melbourne Park, with Sabalenka lying ominously in wait.
Sabalenka is favorite to win a third Australian Open in four years, having been defeated in the final 12 months ago by Madison Keys.
“Tricky opponent,” said the Belarusian.
“Super-happy to close the (first) set, it gives me confidence that my game is there, my focus is there.
“Step by step. Super-happy with my win. There is always a little gap to improve.”
Sabalenka won the first nine points in a row to surge into a 2-0 lead at Rod Laver Arena against her outclassed opponent ranked 702 in the world.
After just eight minutes it was 3-0, then 5-0, with Sabalenka seemingly intent on getting the job done in time for an early lunch.
But the 23-year-old Bai, playing the biggest match of her life, worked through her nerves and finally held serve.
She then stunned center court by breaking Sabalenka’s serve to reduce the deficit to 5-2, and doggedly held her own serve for 5-3.
The 27-year-old US Open champion Sabalenka was beginning to show signs of frustration as she saw numerous set points come and go.
She finally got the job done after 39 minutes on her seventh chance, slamming a ball she was holding in her hand down on the court in a flash of anger.
The second set was more serene, Sabalenka’s superior power taking its toll as she sealed the match in 72 minutes.
