Pep Guardiola gave his thoughts on a 2-1 defeat for Man City at Brighton. He still believes that the team are improving, but in times of adversity, the players "have to do it altogether" no matter the plan.
‘You can never stop’
The Spaniard spoke concisely about what led to a repeat of the result in the last trip to the Seagulls.
"We forgot to play when we decided to play long it's fine, but you have to be ready to win second balls.”
He has spent nine years fighting for the Premier League title, winning the trophy seven times. But now more than ever, he knows that the physicality and grittiness of English football cannot be underestimated.
“Momentum in the Premier League always after a goal can do that but, in that moment, we forgot to play like we have done the first hour. A tough opening always has been, and we play well, we create a lot. But after the goal we are more unstable because we forget to continue playing. You can never stop.”
Whether the ball stays on the floor or goes long, the key point for Guardiola is the unity in the group.
“We decided to play short. In buildup we like to make the process that we have done in the first half and let them run. So, we have to do all together and when long ball altogether you have to know when to go.”
He explained how things fell apart in the buildup to the goal from **Brajan Gruda**in the 89th minute.
“We press well the clearance was short and other side will not close that gap and that's why. Fast players can handle it, but Abdukodir Khusanov had a knock and had a muscular problem and that's why he could not continue. It was an action I put in more in the last minutes. They are tired, have to come back.”
But the boss was still positive in his outlook on the performance, especially the first hour of the game.
"I have. It just sometimes happens. Now we have a deficit of six points. You have to continue to grow up. I have a good feeling. There were things I liked a lot in the first hour. But after that we stopped playing.”
The Citizens came into last season with a new record of top English top tier titles in a row. Their collapse in the final few months of 2024 was a massive shock, and the issues will not be fixed overnight. But Guardiola gave some perspective to the challenge of trying to be the best of the elite year in year out.
“No one team all the time is the same. The people change, team change, we change a lot. This season for the players that but we have a fan base that is very good and new players really good too. It's a question of clicking a final momentum that when we are going to start to winning game is going to happen.