The Manchester City boss was as mesmerising to watch as large parts of this match, a bundle of nervous energy forever gesturing and dishing out instructions, kicking every ball and then questioning why it didn’t go in the direction he intended.
square FOOTBALL Sport AnalysisShould England pick Rashford? I watched every minute of him at Villa to find out
Read More
Within two minutes he was face-palming, after Matheus Nunes passed the ball out for a corner, and more than once in the first half he was yelling in Nico Gonzalez’s direction, one “Nico!” audible from the press seats after the defensive midfielder opted against simplicity.
This was most evident on Saturday by City fielding another new XI, never before seen. Only Ipswich Town have made more changes to their starting line-up in the Premier League this season, and though on opposite ends of the table spectrum, it has been through a similar want of searching for something that might just click.
Pep Guardiola kicked every ball on the sidelines at Forest (Photos: Getty)It didn’t work. Ola Aina pocketed Doku to the point Guardiola switched the winger to the other side for the second half, while Haaland was bizarrely isolated – given the wealth of attacking talent around him – as both Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic relished the opportunity to silence the Norwegian.
“Our game was a little bit slow, we couldn’t contact with the final third and when we arrived in the final third we didn’t have the brilliance.”
It is why, despite the defeat, talk of City’s decline feels greatly exaggerated. They have the players, they have the depth, and in the shouting, gesturing, face-palming, hands-on-head, head-in-hands coach that is Guardiola, they have someone who still cares deeply.
square FOOTBALL Sport AnalysisPep Guardiola's Man City extension is a middle finger to their 115 charges
Read More
Guardiola’s extension was the biggest indication of that, but his demeanour in the big losses that have followed speaks as much about his determination.
The fact therefore that one of the greatest-ever footballing minds has months to do so without the pressure of a title race or a Champions League to go after, well that could only serve to tee them up perfectly for the next season.
Not forgetting, also, that there’s still an FA Cup to win. What other clubs would give for a so-called failure of a season which could yet end with a trophy and a finish inside the top four.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Pep Guardiola still cares – that should terrify Man City’s rivals )
Also on site :