All season long Pep Guardiola has spoken of how important building team spirit is to this new-look Manchester City team. The City manager believes it is the most important ingredient that defines his side. Throughout this season, Manchester City’s spirit has been on full display, although it did appear to wane in Manchester City’s past two matches. There was one moment late in City’s 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday that typified the spirit in this City team. With the game won, Manchester City’s defense was determined to keep a clean sheet. The City defenders’ reaction to two late Nico O’Reilly blocks was telling.
The Manchester City defenders were determined to keep a clean sheet yesterday.
Deep into injury time in the second half of Manchester City’s win over Wolves at the Etihad, Rob Edwards’ side had an opportunity to make it 2-1. A ball across the City area fell to Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera. Mosquera fired in a powerful low strike which was blocked by Nico O’Reilly. As the ball rebounded, O’Reilly made a desperate sliding challenge to keep the ball away from Wolves attacker Tolu Arokodare. The ball fell once again to Mosquera, who fired in another shot that O’Reilly once again blocked.
Following Nico O’Reilly’s blocks, the Manchester City defence celebrated like they had scored a goal. Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, Abdukodir Khusanov, and Gianluigi Donnarumma embraced, and that moment was a special one to come out of yesterday’s win for Manchester City. It also typified the spirit that is being built at City.
Fighting ’til the very end 😤 pic.twitter.com/wmyxCkojyn
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 24, 2026
Building team spirit is a key component of Manchester City’s rebuild.
Team spirit is an underrated trait of all of Pep Guardiola’s sides. It has been present at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and in Manchester City’s all-conquering side. The togetherness and spirit of Pep Guardiola’s squads fuel them to achieve feats that are generally considered unattainable. Pep Guardiola has spoken of how important it is to build spirit in Manchester City’s rebuilt squad. It was on full display late in yesterday’s match, and it will be a key component of this Manchester City team in the future.
So often, key defensive moments like Nico O’Reilly’s blocks don’t attract attention. Yesterday’s moment, with Nico O’Reilly’s desperation and his teammates’ reaction to it, was great to see. That moment showed the spirit in this Manchester City team, and it can take them a long way if history is any guide.