Pep Guardiola has admitted that he is just experiencing the kind of Premier League he heard about before he joined Manchester City in 2016.
The 49-year-old Spanish tactician revealed that before he started managing City, he spoke with some people in the Premier League and was told that any club can beat any club in the league but didn’t see that when he first arrived in the league.
Recall that when Pep Guardiola left Bayern Munich in 2016 and joined Manchester City, he settled down almost immediately and went ahead to win two successive Premier League titles (2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons). Last season, he led Manchester City to battle for the title against Liverpool. Pep and Liverpool’s coach Jurgen Klopp made the league a two-horse race last season but Klopp ended up winning the league.
But so far in the 2020-2021 season, Pep Guardiola has struggled to maintain the form Manchester City have been enjoying since he joined the club. For instance, in 14 league games that City have played this season, the club has recorded just 7 victories, 5 draws, and 2 defeats, which have placed the club on the 8th spot with 26 points.
Though Manchester City have two outstanding games left, the club can drop to the 9th spot if Chelsea manage to defeat City later today, January 3, at 17:30.
“If you think about what [can] happen in January, February – the two games [in hand], we can lose these two games and anything can happen.
“So, in the Premier League, every game is so tough and it is better to be calm. The real Premier League, the people I spoke to before I landed here, said everyone can lose to everyone. I didn’t see this until now.
“Now is the first time when I see in the Premier League, one team can lose or win seven, and after drawing, and after losing. The results are unpredictable.”
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— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 1, 2021
A word from the boss…
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Pep Guardiola is going into the match between Chelsea and Manchester City Hotspur without 5 of his first-team players who tested positive for coronavirus recently. The famous names among them are Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus.
Before now, the possibility of the match being postponed was very high but as at the time of publishing this report, the Premier League was yet to announce the postponement of the fixture. Hence, the match might go on as planned.
Pep Guardiola is not retiring anytime soon
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola seemed to have reconsidered his plan to retire from coaching as early as he projected. The Spanish tactician once said he planned to retire early to go into other interests of his.
But on Saturday, during the pre-match press conference for Chelsea vs Manchester City game, Guardiola revealed that he is having a rethink on his early retirement plan.
“Experience helps you, especially the way I live my profession,” said the Spaniard, who has won 29 major trophies in a glittering managerial career that also includes spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“Before, I thought I was going to retire soon. Now I’m thinking I’m going to retire older. So, I don’t know.”
Pep Guardiola still has until June 2023 before his new contract with Manchester City expires. If he stays until the end of his contract, he would become the longest-serving coach of the club.
Pep Guardiola has never stayed beyond 4 years in any club since he started his managerial career. Recall that he managed FC Barcelona for three years and then managed Bayern Munich for four years before he joined Manchester City.
