Pep Guardiola, identified for constructing a legacy at Manchester Metropolis the place losses are a rarity, now faces a difficult second. This previous week, the Residents have been dealt back-to-back setbacks, falling to Tottenham Hotspur within the Carabao Cup and to Bournemouth within the Premier League. Forward of their UEFA Champions League conflict with Sporting Lisbon, Guardiola addressed the group’s kind, sending a transparent message to Metropolis and the media.
Metropolis are pressured to recuperate from this consecutive losses in a recreation the place they’ll face Portuguese facet Sporting, who sit within the desk with the identical quantity of factors than Metropolis, 7. Within the match preview, Guardiola was requested about this unhealthy second, and the Spanish coach delivered a straight reply.
“I do know our requirements. So yeah, we misplaced one recreation within the Premier League, perhaps we’re going to lose in opposition to Brighton, the following in opposition to Tottenham, and Liverpool, and different video games… However we misplaced one recreation. We’re two factors behind Liverpool, who’re a prime class group, we’ve executed actually good on the Champions League… I do know that folks count on us to win 38 video games, and win the treble each season as a result of that is our requirements,” the coach said.
Addressing followers’ expectations, Pep identified the numerous accidents impacting the squad: “The explanation why is harder as a result of we’ve got a whole lot of absences… Oscar (Bobb), a very powerful participant throughout preseason is injured, and we miss him quite a bit, Jack (Grealish) isn’t nonetheless match, and you understand the scenario for Rodri, the perfect participant on this planet isn’t right here for what has occurred.
Although Metropolis gained’t have their Ballon d’Or winner, Guardiola welcomed the problem. “We all know that we’re going to wrestle. That’s the level, settle for that we’re going to wrestle, and it’s actually tremendous. Each recreation will probably be harder than we’ve got within the earlier seasons,” the coach said. “The center class for the Premier rises unbelievable,” he added.
Bournemouth ruined Guardiola and Metropolis’s report
Reflecting on the Bournemouth recreation, Guardiola praised the opposition’s efforts. “In that match, Bournemouth need to win, by far. They have been higher. However that doesn’t imply we’re a nasty group, or we aren’t going to win the titles,” Guardiola said earlier than the Sporting match. The two-1 loss to Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium marked two historic milestones.
Firstly, this was Bournemouth’s first-ever win over Manchester Metropolis. Of their earlier 16 conferences, the Sky Blues held 15 victories, and now coach Andoni Iraola achieved the Cherries’ first win within the rivalry.
Secondly, Bournemouth broke Metropolis’s unbeaten Premier League streak, ending their flawless run in 2024. Metropolis’s final league loss dated again to December 12, 2023, in a slim 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
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