Manchester City were without seven potential starters for their trip to Crystal Palace and Pep Guardiola was left fuming after a red card was shown to Rico Lewis
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Updated 09:51, 09 Dec 2024
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Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, reacts prior to the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Manchester City
Pep Guardiola watches on against Crystal Palace
Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City squad to embrace the challenges ahead as they bid to retain their Premier League crown amidst a tough season riddled with injuries and absentee players.
In Saturday's scrappy 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace, Rico Lewis netted a valuable equaliser before receiving a red card, sidelining him for the upcoming Manchester derby.
Guardiola, who was without seven key players in south London due to injury or illness, maintained his stance, stating: "It's football, and we know that this season will be like this."
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He echoed his halftime talk to the team: "What I said to the players (was) 'Don't feel sorry. Please accept the challenge'."
Despite the setbacks, Guardiola remains optimistic, suggesting that overcoming these hurdles could bring even greater satisfaction than previous title wins: "It will be more difficult, but that's what it is and maybe at the end we will have more satisfaction, in the way that we are going to (respond) to these problems, than maybe in the other seasons that we won the title."
He acknowledged the ongoing struggle with player fitness: "All teams want their players always fit and ready and unfortunately since the beginning that could not happen, and it's going to be, I think, for longer."
Nevertheless, he vowed: "But one way or the other, we are going to try."
City trail eight points behind Liverpool, who stand at the top of the league with a game in hand after the Merseyside derby postponement caused by Storm Darragh.
Notable absentees from the matchday squad included John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Mateo Kovacic, Rodri, and Oscar Bobb due to various injuries, while Phil Foden was also missing owing to illness.
On a brighter note, Erling Haaland continued his sensational form by netting his 13th goal of the season, neutralising Daniel Munoz's early opening strike for Palace.
Summer signing Maxence Lacroix netted his first goal for Palace, putting them ahead once again after the interval, but Lewis ensured a share of the spoils with a 68th-minute equaliser before receiving a contentious second yellow card for a tussle with Trevoh Chalobah.
Pep Guardiola's squad is stretched thin despite the return of Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish, and Ruben Dias from injuries, leaving him with limited options in top condition.
"The season starts difficult, it will be difficult all season," the City manager remarked, looking ahead to their next Champions League clash against Juventus on Wednesday.
"We have to survive the season, every game, try to take points, to try to win games and go forward."
"Unfortunately (Lewis) is an important player for us for the next game against United at home, but in general what they have done in the circumstances is really, really good."
"From the beginning, everything was wrong and unlucky in many things and we have to continue with that, with the players that we have at our disposal."
"We go to the Champions League now in Turin and try to perform well, and we take the results."
In contrast, Crystal Palace's campaign has been a stark reversal of their rivals'.
While City's form dipped after late October, Palace broke an eight-match drought by defeating Tottenham, marking a turning point for them.
With 10 points from their last seven Premier League matches, Palace sit 17th, just four points above Ipswich in the drop zone.
Glasner, reflecting on the recent high-energy match with Crystal Palace, shared: "We don't feel unlucky. It was a good performance, but I think we can do better."
He added, stressing the importance of player fitness and game time: "It's always up to the players. You support them. It's important to be fit and stay fit, otherwise you never reach your best. You can't play on your best level."
The coach then underlined his developmental approach by saying: "You need the training, you need the games, you need the minutes. We need all the players fit, we need them sharp, being ready to play how we want to play."
He concluded on an optimistic note: "I think then we still have a lot of potential to improve."