The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has described the superb run of games the club has been enjoying as one of his best achievements at the Premier League club.
The Spanish tactician noted how stunned it has been that his team was able to record a lot of positive results despite the tight schedule which the team has been subjected to since the commencement of the 2020-2021 season.
Pep Guardiola and his players have been almost invincible after the FIFA break in November 2020 especially towards the end of the year. They enjoyed unprecedented 21 games winning streak in all competitions in the last four months. The winning streak ended on March 7, 2021, when they met Manchester United in the Premier League. Their domestic rival ended their winning run with a 2-0 defeat at the Etihad stadium.
Afterward, Manchester City picked up their winning mood and defeated Southampton 5-2 in less than three days after. They went ahead to beat Fulham 0-3 on March 13.
On Saturday, March 20, 2021, Pep Guardiola led Manchester City to Goodison Park where they faced Everton in the quarter-final stage of the FA Cup, and the Manchester side defeated the Merseyside club at home to progress to the next level of the competition.
Though Everton gave Manchester City a tough game, City was able to break through the defense of the Merseyside club in the 84th minute, thanks to Ilkay Gundogan’s strike. Kevin De Bruyne made it two for Manchester City in the 90th minute.
The 2-0 victory over Everton means that Manchester City have enjoyed 34 victories in 39 games in the last four months. They only recorded three defeats and two draws in those games, stats that have seen them dominate in all the competitions they are involved in this season.
They are currently on the verge of winning the Premier League title, they are in the final of the EFL Cup, they are in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League and the semi-final stage of the FA Cup.
Pep Guardiola said: “Honestly, since the last international break, we played 39, won 34, drawn two, lost three, one of them was Porto away when we’d already qualified.
“In this wintertime, four months, playing every three days, it’s an incredible commitment. I don’t have any words to express that, and in this period, after one game we cannot even enjoy it because three days later there is another.
“It’s not just about tactics and skills, it’s mental, to be ready every game. What we have done is more than remarkable, it’s incredible. One of the greatest achievements we have done together for a long time.
“Of course we have not won anything, and we will be focused for the rest of the competitions. We will see how far we arrive in those competitions.”
On Manchester City’s win over Everton on Saturday, Guardiola told BT Sport that: “I saw the warm-up Everton have done, we saw the commitment and how focused they were. They defended really aggressively in a good sense. Really, really tough. But we were patient, conceded nothing, and in the end, we won.
“One of the toughest games we have played in the last four months, since the last international break.”
PEP 💬 We knew the team who scored would win the game. All the players were fantastic and Riyad and Kevin in the last minutes changed the rhythm – we found the goal and we are in the semi-final. pic.twitter.com/GfvHXb0Rwd
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 20, 2021
