Guardiola calls for patience after Anfield setback

Following Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola called for patience and the need to focus on improvement.

When asked about the Premier League being as he expected before arriving, the Spaniard insisted he didn’t have any expectations upon arrival and is keen to look at the bigger picture.

City now languish 10 points adrift of league leaders Chelsea, though Guardiola was quick to point out that a large chunk of the season still remains – and that his team remains alive in all competitions.

Guardiola insists the perception after losing the final game of the calendar year was always going to be negative.

“It’s been a part of our season, we controlled the game, we conceded here at Anfield, but they didn’t really have another chance, I think Claudio Bravo didn’t make another save after the goal.

“So it’s not just today, of course Sergio Aguero was absent for seven games, but we were quite stable in defence, we controlled the game, we started counter attacks, we didn’t let Mane and the others run too much.

“They defend well and when they counter, they have good runners who can get in behind you, so I think that was the game,” Guardiola maintained.

“When you’re 10 points behind, you have to be focused just on the next game, so we cannot talk about such goals, we need to focus on the next game, the second legs start the day after tomorrow, after what happened today, it is what it is, but we have to look at the many things there are to fight for, the Premier League, the Champions League, the Cup, qualification for the Champions League next season.

“When there’s one or two months left, we’ll see what our position is, and in that moment we’ll decide what our target is,” Guardiola added in his post match comments.

He added that he is delighted to work with the players in his squad, and says they work hard on implementing his style of football – despite it being new to some of them.

“Throughout my career as a manager, I’ve never expected anything to happen. I arrive, I do training, we play, we train, we play and after that we see what’s going on, to see what the good things are, the bad things and how we can improve.

“There’s a long way to go, we aren’t even in January, so there’s six or seven months, a lot of games to play and you have to patient and carry on going,” Guardiola emphasised.

Tags:

Liverpool manchester city Pep Guardiola Premier League Viral Social review news UK Football Top Story Guardiola calls for patience after Anfield setback

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories