Tag: Pep Guardiola

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GUNDOGAN WILL BE BACK FOR ARSENAL – GUARDIOLA

Pep Guardiola insists in-form midfielder Ilkay Gundogan should be fit for Manchester City’s game at Arsenal on Sunday after the midfielder missed their win at Everton.

Gundogan, who has scored four goals in his last two league games against Tottenham and Liverpool, missed the 3-1 win at Goodison Park on Wednesday night with a slight groin injury.

City boss Guardiola revealed that the German’s absence from Wednesday’s matchday squad was precautionary and he looks set to return at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

‘He [Gundogan] is much, much better,’ Guardiola told the City club website after Wednesday’s win, their 17th straight victory in all competitions.

‘It is not a big issue, but to avoid risk today, we have given him a few more days to recover.

‘But for Arsenal and Borussia Monchengladbach he should be ready.

‘Of course Gundo is exceptional. We spoke about that. If you want to win titles and finals we need the whole squad.’

City face Borussia Monchengladbach next Wednesday in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie and will be boosted by the news of Gundogan’s fitness.

Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne also made his long-awaited return from injury on Wednesday night, as an 80th-minute substitute for Raheem Sterling.

Gundogan, meanwhile, is the most in-form player in the Premier League, having scored 11 goals in his last 12 league games.

City stretched their lead at the top of the table to 10 points as goals from Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva secured all three points against the Toffees

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GUARDIOLA SAYS THERE WON’T BE JANUARY SIGNINGS AT CITY THIS SEASON.

Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City will not be making any new signings in the January transfer window.

After a slow start to the season, City have hit form in recent weeks and have climbed to second in the Premier League after a run of five successive wins.

Their growing momentum has also seen them reach the final of the Carabao Cup, the fourth round of the FA Cup and the last 16 of the Champions League.

The only notable area of weakness this term has been at centre forward, with both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus missing a large number of games due to injuries and coronavirus-related self-isolation.

With no specialist senior back-up, Guardiola’s alternatives have been deploying winger Ferran Torres as a makeshift striker, Kevin De Bruyne or Raheem Sterling as ‘false nines’ or giving a chance to 17-year-old Liam Delap.

But Guardiola told beIN Sports: “We will not sign any deal during the winter transfer market. We did not discuss this, but we will end the season with the players that we have now.”

Guardiola accepts there have been times when the lack of a centre forward has been noticeable, but he is convinced there is enough quality in the squad to ensure it is not a major issue.

This is one of our ways,” he said. “There were matches where we needed an attacker but at that time two of them were injured.

“One had been injured for a long time – Sergio Aguero. The other two had the coronavirus.

“That’s why we sometimes play in this way, other times we are forced to do that because of a pressing need.

“It’s an alternative plan, which we can rely on given the talents we have in the various positions.”

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GUARDIOLA IN DOUBTS OVER AGUERO RETURN DATE FROM INJURY.

Pep Guardiola admitted he was unsure about the timetable for Sergio Aguero’s return to Manchester City’s team.

The striker, 32, has hardly played this season due to ongoing issues related to a knee injury.

Aguero is expected to return this week but the City boss issued a note of caution, saying: ‘Sergio depends how he wakes up. He makes good training sessions and then has some niggles.

He woke up with a little problem in his knee. We know the injury he had is not easy for the recovery.

‘We have to handle it as best as possible.’ In Aguero’s absence City had struggled for goals prior to the thumping 5-0 win against Burnley.

Despite the result, Guardiola warned his forwards that they must start hitting individual targets or face sitting on the bench — suggesting he is ready to ditch mass rotation in matches over the next month and will only pick players on performances.

It’s not about rotation now,’ Guardiola said. ‘The players who don’t make mistakes — like John Stones in defence — deserve to play more games.

‘The goals today help us, of course — especially for Riyad Mahrez. Gabriel Jesus has to score goals too.’

Mahrez answered his critics with a hat-trick, while Guardiola started both Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden on the bench.

He added: ‘Sterling when he plays has to score. They have to score more goals. That is why they are here. It depends on the player, their performance on the pitch.’

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GUARDIOLA SIGNS TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH MANCHESTER CITY.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract with the Premier League club.

“Manchester City are pleased to announce that Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year deal with the club,” City said in a statement. “The contract, which now runs to the summer of 2023, sees Guardiola’s commitment to City extended to seven years from his arrival in 2016.”


“Pep’s current five-year stay is already the longest commitment he has made to a football club since becoming a manager in 2008 – and this extension will see him overtake Joe Mercer and put him second on the Club’s list of longest-serving post-war managers.”

Ever since I arrived at Manchester City I have been made to feel so welcome in the club and in the city itself,” Guardiola said. “Since then we have achieved a great deal together, scored goals, won games and trophies, and we are all very proud of that success.”

The news will extinguish any hope that Barcelona had held of tempting the Catalan back to Camp Nou. Presidential candidate Victor Font had brought it up as a possibility he’d look in to, even though Guardiola himself has always played down the possibility of him returning to the club.

Born in Santpedor, Guardiola spent eleven years as a first-team player at Camp Nou before spending time in Italy, Qatar and Mexico.

As a coach, Guardiola built one of the greatest teams of all time at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, winning three consecutive La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, three Spanish Super Cups, two Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Guardiola then spent a year in New York on sabbatical before a three-season stint in Germany with Bayern Munich. He joined Manchester City in 2016 and has won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, three League Cups and two Community Shields at the Etihad Stadium.

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AGUERO COULD BE FIT FOR LIVERPOOL CLASH – GUARDIOLA.

Pep Guardiola has not ruled out Sergio Agüero returning early from a hamstring injury for Manchester City’s match at home to Liverpool on Sunday and could have Gabriel Jesus back for Tuesday’s Champions League game with Olympiakos.

Agüero was injured in the draw at West Ham on October 24th. Guardiola’s initial view was that the club’s record goalscorer could be out for up to a month but there is a chance the 32-year-old could face Liverpool in a pivotal early-season fixture. If City beat the champions they will move two points behind Liverpool with a match in hand.

Asked about Agüero’s prospects the manager said: “We don’t want to make a step back again [by rushing him] but he’s getting better. It’s not so [bad] as we believed when he felt something in the last game, against West Ham. He’s getting better – I don’t know about Liverpool. After the international break for sure he’ll be ready.”

Jesus suffered a muscle problem after playing all of City’s season-opening win at Wolves on September 21st, and Guardiola has fielded Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres as deputy No 9s in the absence of Jesus and Agüero. The Brazilian could return for the visit of Olympiakos in City’s third Group C game.

“We’ll see the last training [before the match],” Guardiola said. ”He did one with the team yesterday [Sunday]. We are happy he’s back but we’ve been happy with Ferran so we have an alternative.”

Torres has scored in each of City’s previous two Champions League wins, against Porto and Marseille, operating at centre forward in the latter match. Sterling has played in the position numerous times under Guardiola. The manager has previously said Agüero will be close to impossible to replace and was asked on Monday whether Sterling might be a long-term solution.

“He can play there when the opponents are defending a lot of spaces in behind; when teams come to press he can do it,” he said. “When teams settle in the box for 90 minutes he’s better down the sides than in the middle.”

In the transfer window Nathan Aké and Rúben Dias were bought to strengthen City’s centre back options, with Aymeric Laporte, Eric García and John Stones already at the club. Guardiola is content with this new depth after Vincent Kompany’s departure in summer 2019 and Laporte’s serious injury blighted his previous campaign.

“Definitely I am pleased,” he said. “We struggled a lot last season, with the problems we had: Vincent went to Belgium [to Anderlecht] and there was a serious injury for Laporte. We were damaged, but we’ve new players coming and we have alternatives to use in the position.”

Guardiola warned against complacency when playing Olympiakos, the Greek champions. “You cannot make a false step in the Champions League because after that you struggle,” he said.

“We know to qualify you have to secure your games at home and win at least one away. We did it winning in Marseille but now we have to be sure we can keep the points at home. That’s why tomorrow we have an incredible opportunity to make a huge step to qualify for the next round. Olympiakos have to win every game and when you play with this mentality it’s difficult to face.”

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GUARDIOLA WARY OF REAL MADRID EN ROUTE HIS TEAM’S UCL AMBITION

Pep Guardiola warned his Manchester City players not to look too far ahead after their route to a possible final was mapped out on Friday.

The Blues discovered that they will face either Juventus or Lyon in the quarter-final, and then possibly Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the semis, after today’s draw in Nyon.

But they have to finish the job against Real Madrid in the second leg of their last 16 game on August 7 or 8, to reach the tournament for the last eight next month.

It could be an extremely tough route to the final, but Guardiola insisted that he only has his sights fixed on Madrid, with City having a slender 2-1 lead from the first leg in the Bernabeu.

Guardiola was also puzzled by suggestions that he, or City, had influenced Uefa’s decision to play that second leg at the Etihad Stadium, after it was initially touted that all last-16 second legs might also be switched to Portugal.

When asked about the draw, Guardiola said: “We have to play against Madrid. If we think about the next step, the kings of this competition will put us out.”

And he was nonplussed by the suggestion that it was unusual that the second leg be staged in Manchester.

“The first leg we played in Madrid, the second leg we play at home,” he said – there had been mischievous suggestions in Spain that he had personally tried to influence that decision.

“It’s a normal situation. It’s not about advantage. It is what it is. In knockout games it’s one at home and one away.

“Why should we play in another place? The first leg we played in Madrid, the second leg we will play at home.

“It is not about advantage, it is what it is. When it is a knockout game with two legs, there is one at home and one away.”