Manchester City manager aims to turn tide on ‘incredible’ rivals by putting the emphasis on goals in their early title showdownrThe two strongest teams in England meet at Anfield on Sunday afternoon and, though Pep Guardiola’s side at present top the Premier League table on goal difference, the Manchester City manager knows after the events of last season that his players are the ones with something to prove.What would you say, he was asked by the man from the BBC, to people who suggest Liverpool have Manchester City worked out, that they know how to stop you playing? “I would say congratulations,” Guardiola flashed back with a disarming smile. “Well done, good, you are right.” Related: Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool...
Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have both reined in their attacking instincts this season, aware of leaving gaps in defenceIt is all about the full-backs but these days it is always all about the full‑backs. From a tactical point of view Sunday’s meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City is likely to be settled by Trent Alexander-Arnold against Aymeric Laporte and Andy Robertson against Kyle Walker – and, if it is not, it will be because Pep Guardiola has chosen not to take on that fight. Jack Charlton’s observation after the 1994 World Cup that full-back had become the most important position on the pitch seems wiser by the day.Full-backs, Louis van Gaal insists, are the key to Guardiola. The biggest...
Marauding full-backs Benjamin Mendy and Kyle Walker give City great width but their forays could be exploited by Champions League sharksThe problem with excellence is how commonplace it can quickly come to feel. How long, you wonder, before the question becomes less whether Manchester City will retain the title, than whether they might this time be able to manage an unbeaten season, whether last season’s record of 100 points may be in jeopardy? Related: Bernardo Silva sets seal on dominant Manchester City win over Arsenal Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action Continue reading...
Sade’s 1984 soul hit has proved a suitable soundtrack to Manchester City’s sexy football under their Spanish managerFew people know the secrets behind Pep Guardiola’s managerial success as well as Domènec Torrent, who worked as the Spaniard’s assistant at Barcelona B, with the Catalan club’s first team, at Bayern Munich and finally at Manchester City before, after 11 years, leaving his mentor’s side this summer to take over at New York City. This week Torrent offered a glimpse inside Guardiola’s tactical bunker.“Pep loves music in general and I am the same,” he said. “When we worked in the office we always had music on. Not rock music. Just something relaxing, maybe Sade.” Related: Sadio Mané's stoppage-time winner lifts Liverpool over Manchester...
Manchester City’s joyous romp to the Premier League title presents the manager with a different kind of opportunityYou won. Fine. Now win again. Win better. Even in a moment of triumph, with his beautifully engineered seventh domestic title safely stowed away, it is hard to avoid that nagging paradox that runs through Pep Guardiola’s managerial career.Although not before making space for a little grateful applause. It was fitting Manchester City’s Premier League title arrived at a canter in the end, leaving some clarity around the edges, some time to step back and simply admire. A prolonged stutter to the line may have confirmed a few hard-to-shift Proper Football Man Prejudices. But it would also have been misleading. Related: Vulnerable channels...