MANCHESTER: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola framed Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Leeds United as a must-focus, must-respond moment amid a widening gap to leaders Arsenal in the table.
Leading with a message of urgency, Guardiola said the priority is to lock in on the next 90 minutes rather than the bigger picture — but he did not shy away from the reality of the title race.
“I’ve always had experience to talk about the next game and then after that we will see,” Guardiola said on Friday. “I know the distance is already there and Arsenal is so strong, we see it game by game they are getting better and better as a team.”
City, third in the table, trail Arsenal by seven points after 12 games, and are a point behind second-placed Chelsea. Leeds are in the relegation zone in 18th.
Guardiola’s men will be looking to reassert themselves after recent setbacks — a 2-1 league defeat at Newcastle and a 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
In their defeat to Newcastle, the manager said his players had played “to not make mistakes, not to do something and that is so difficult.”
“In football you have to play, in defense you have to try and if you lose in your actions you did it; they played to be safe,” he said.
On the back of the Leverkusen defeat, he also suggested his players were lacking confidence.
“I had a lot of confidence in them and I still do,” Guardiola said. “I put huge value as to what they are as football players.
“Maybe I think higher of them than they think about themselves. It was a good lesson for me, as experienced as I am as a manager it was a good lesson for me for the future.”
Guardiola made 10 changes to his team against Leverkusen on Tuesday and it backfired in a big way. City’s league-leading scorer Erling Haaland was a second-half substitute but could not provide any late-game heroics.
Guardiola on Friday downplayed his reliance on the 25-year-old Norwegian, who has 14 goals in the league this season. No other City player has more than one.
“Not the main concern but in general the last game, we did many good things in the game, in defense and of course Erling is massively important but others are as well,” he said.
City and Spain midfielder Rodri remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, but Guardiola said he is “not far” from returning.
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Guardiola seeks Manchester City rebound as Arsenal extend lead
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Guardiola seeks Manchester City rebound as Arsenal extend lead
- Leading with a message of urgency, Guardiola said the priority is to lock in on the next 90 minutes
- “I’ve always had experience to talk about the next game and then after that we will see“
Salford ‘way more prepared’ for Man City rematch says manager
- Karl Robinson is adamant Salford will be a better side when they return to the scene of last season’s 8-0 defeat by Manchester City
LONDON: Karl Robinson is adamant Salford will be a better side when they return to the scene of last season’s 8-0 defeat by Manchester City.
The fourth-tier club side were thrashed by Pep Guardiola’s men in an FA Cup third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium.
They will now make the same short journey in England’s northwest in the fourth round on Saturday and the Salford manager is confident of a very different game.
“Last year was really emotional,” said Robinson. “It wasn’t too long ago our owners were leaning on iron bars watching non-league football.
“To then walk out at the Etihad in front of 60,000 with their football club was incredible. That’s the journey of all journeys.
“This year we have other things to worry about. We have a different mindset. We’ve learned from last year. We’ll be way more prepared.”
Playing City in the FA Cup was an indication of Salford’s rise through the ranks of English football from non-league level, with their ascent propelled by their takeover by a group of former Manchester United stars from the celebrated ‘Class of 92’.
Salford are now in their seventh successive campaign in League Two, with the ownership changing last year as a new consortium fronted by Gary Neville and David Beckham bought out their former Old Trafford teammates.
Forging their own identity in the shadow of some of England’s leading clubs is an issue for Salford, who will revert to their traditional orange kit after the ‘Class of 92’ brought in a red and white strip.
“Salford is a proper football club and that’s our message going into this game,” said Robinson.
“Last year we wore the red kit but we’ll wear our away kit this year, just to signify it’s a new era. We do sit separate to City and United. We have our own identity.
“We’re a completely different football club now.”
For all Robinson’s renewed optimism, City thrashed League One Exeter 10-1 in the last round of the FA Cup.
But he insisted: “There’s always hope, there’s always a possibility. You don’t know 100 percent. You might know the odds are 99.9 percent against, but there’s still that chance.
“Everyone goes to bed the night before with that thought of ‘what if?’, and that’s exciting.”
The fourth-tier club side were thrashed by Pep Guardiola’s men in an FA Cup third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium.
They will now make the same short journey in England’s northwest in the fourth round on Saturday and the Salford manager is confident of a very different game.
“Last year was really emotional,” said Robinson. “It wasn’t too long ago our owners were leaning on iron bars watching non-league football.
“To then walk out at the Etihad in front of 60,000 with their football club was incredible. That’s the journey of all journeys.
“This year we have other things to worry about. We have a different mindset. We’ve learned from last year. We’ll be way more prepared.”
Playing City in the FA Cup was an indication of Salford’s rise through the ranks of English football from non-league level, with their ascent propelled by their takeover by a group of former Manchester United stars from the celebrated ‘Class of 92’.
Salford are now in their seventh successive campaign in League Two, with the ownership changing last year as a new consortium fronted by Gary Neville and David Beckham bought out their former Old Trafford teammates.
Forging their own identity in the shadow of some of England’s leading clubs is an issue for Salford, who will revert to their traditional orange kit after the ‘Class of 92’ brought in a red and white strip.
“Salford is a proper football club and that’s our message going into this game,” said Robinson.
“Last year we wore the red kit but we’ll wear our away kit this year, just to signify it’s a new era. We do sit separate to City and United. We have our own identity.
“We’re a completely different football club now.”
For all Robinson’s renewed optimism, City thrashed League One Exeter 10-1 in the last round of the FA Cup.
But he insisted: “There’s always hope, there’s always a possibility. You don’t know 100 percent. You might know the odds are 99.9 percent against, but there’s still that chance.
“Everyone goes to bed the night before with that thought of ‘what if?’, and that’s exciting.”
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