Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola shouldered the blame for Manchester City’s Champions League final flop last season. But the Blues boss praised his players for bouncing back from three consecutive defeats to Chelsea – including that final loss in Porto – with a Premier League double over Thomas Tuchel’s side this season.
Pep Guardiola said: “We lost the three games against them, for one we were not mentally prepared because of the difficult (Champions league quarter-final) game in Dortmund. In the league here we lost because football is unpredictable and we were better and in the final we started like we did today and at Stamford Bridge – it was 1-0, 1-0, 1-0. “I didn’t prepare well for the game – it didn’t happen. I tried to learn from it but the game was quite well poised. We struggled with the second balls from (N’Golo) Kante and Jorginho, especially they attacked the channels more often and better. it was quite similar, one action, that time for Chelsea. We tried to press, all the time.”
But mulling over history is not Guardiola’s style. He is a man for the present and immediate future, and preferred to reflect on the character his players have shown to follow those three defeats with consecutive wins.
Pep Guardiola said: “After the three defeats in a row, the way we’ve played these two games is the biggest compliment I can give my players – they didn’t feel bad or depressed or worse. We’ve played 180 minutes against them this season and conceded just one shot on target – against European champions. That was because we defended and we put our hearts into it and we gave everything to win against this team. And the opponent, their manager is so good. Thomas Tuchel is an outstanding manager. And the players they have, it’s really good.”
