Pep Guardiola continued to insist after Manchester City’s 12th consecutive win that his players needed to focus on their next game and their reaction to when they do drop points. But he made sure to tell them privately just how remarkable their recent run has been. City are enjoying the third-best winning run both under Guardiola and in their history. And not only did a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday continue their excellent form and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table but it also set a new record with the Blues becoming the first team in the top four divisions of English football to ever win nine games in a single calendar month.
However much Guardiola won’t allow his team to get carried away with their form, even he has been taken aback by the exceptional run they have been able to put together given the exceptional circumstances they have had to deal with this season.A month that began with a depleted squad winning in the league at Stamford Bridge and then at Old Trafford in a cup semi-final, and ended with Kevin De Bruyne joining Sergio Aguero on the sidelines, left the manager delighted with how his team have battled through and produced an historically good streak.
Pep Guardiola said: “Not just January, from the middle of December we know how tough it is, everyone is at home in lockdown, we cannot express ourselves, go out to restaurants like everyone else in the world. To achieve this is quite remarkable, more than any other period from our lives, so that is why I didn’t expect it. I said to the players in the meeting, we’ve finished the first leg, congratulations, it’s remarkable what you’ve done all of you and now keep going. Now go home and rest, and [prepare for] Burnley.”
