Pep Guardiola
Quite remarkable from the under-fire City boss
Pep Guardiola looked ahead to the Manchester derby by calling on his team to repeat the sort of performance they last produced against a Ruben Amorim side.
“I would like to play the game like we played in Lisbon on Sunday, believe me,” declared Guardiola. “The way we played in Lisbon I would like to play on Sunday. I don't know if we are able to do it - for many reasons - but we will see.”
Alarmingly for City fans, Sporting Lisbon - in one of Amorim’s last matches in charge - THUMPED the Premier League title holders 4-1 in that Champions League game. That was one of seven defeats for City in their last ten matches and Guardiola now faces Amorim again in the new United manager's first derby at the Etihad.
And while Guardiola clearly believes the loss in Lisbon did not reflect the balance of that match and was something of a freak result, he is obviously a big admirer of Amorim. Guardiola said: “He will do a good job at United, I'm pretty sure of that. He will do it. It's already there, all the patterns. They start to do it, the good movements, the runners and the pace.”
YOU DECIDE!Cast your vote for Fans' Footballer of the Year 2024
Only one of the seven losses have been suffered at the Etihad but Guardiola understands the growing frustration of the supporters, saying: “I know our fans are sad and I understand completely. Maybe we lost seven or eight games in a year in some seasons and now we have done it in a month and a half. But they know that this group of players has made an era of eight to ten years that no-one has done.”
While the fans might be ‘sad’, Guardiola has admitted that City’s startling slump has seen him struggling with his sleeping and eating habits. He told Amazon Prime earlier in the week: “I sleep badly and I don’t digest. I always have to eat light."
But on the eve of the derby, Guardiola insisted he was in good form.
“I’m fine,” he smiled. “In our jobs we always want to do our best or the best as possible. When that doesn't happen you are more uncomfortable than when the situation is going well.”
And what is making Pep uncomfortable in the build-up to the clash with United is the continuing fitness issues that means he has only three defenders - Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol - available.
"I don't know what I have to do,” said Guardiola. “I need players. We have three and we will see what happens today and tomorrow. Maybe some winger has to play as a full-back or Matheus [Nunes] can play as a full-back, or maybe can play five at the back with wing-backs as wingers. We are thinking what to do with a situation where we have just three central defenders.”
But despite the defeat against Juventus extending the City run to just one win in ten matches, Guardiola believes his team are not performing badly.
He said: “I'm really pleased with the way we played and I know perfectly whether we are playing good or not good. We have to shoot more in the final third. We have to defend better. We have to avoid making mistakes at both ends, yes .. but the game is there.”
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.