The manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has declared war on the Premier League after leading City to qualify for the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Manchester City played away against Portuguese side, Porto, on Tuesday night but were not able to get all the three points for the first time since the commencement of the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League group stage.
The draw did not stop Pep Guardiola and his boys from finishing top of UEFA Champions League group C with 13 points after recording a massive 4 wins over Porto, Olympiacos, and Marseille. A draw in the return leg against Porto sealed their triumph over group C.
While Manchester City were being consistent in the UEFA Champions League, they were inconsistent in the 2020-2021 Premier League campaign. The situation has gotten so bad that the Manchester club is currently ranked 11th on the league table.
So far this season, the Premier League club has played 9 league games in which Pep and his boys recorded 4 wins, three draws, and two defeats. Their defense has conceded 11 goals while their attack has scored 15 goals.
Pep Guardiola started the season’s campaign with numerous cases of injuries especially to some of his star players like Argentine striker Sergio Aguero and Belgium playmaker Kelvin De Bruyne. At some point in the season, Manchester City were without Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez, and Aymeric Laporte who were out of football when they tested positive for coronavirus.
As it stands, these players are back to full fitness which means that Pep Guardiola has more options to choose from going forward. The coach might decide to rest most of his best players to execute the last UEFA Champions League group stage match against Marseille on Wednesday, December 9, to concentrate on the club’s Premier League games.
“Incredible congratulations to the team for this group stage”, Guardiola said after the goalless draw against Porto on Tuesday night. “We played incredibly well. We didn’t concede one corner or one shot on target in Europe away against Porto, who alongside Benfica, are the best team in Portugal with an incredibly physical team.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t score, but we created chances with set-pieces and actions and all the players were fantastic, starting with Edie (Ederson) and finishing with Phil.
“We came here to finish first, we played for a win [against Porto], we deserved to win but in football, deserved or not deserved are just fake words. In the end, the results dictate everything but we played to win the game.
“The shots, maybe not all on target, but we were there all the time. It’s difficult with eight or nine players defending in the box, defending crosses, and everything… Now we can focus 100 percent on the Premier League.”
He added that “against Marseille, we can play with different ways or different people or whatever, which is good for us.”
Job done 🙌
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 1, 2020
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/6GZXgsqsVM
Manchester City’s next Premier League match is against Fulham that are just picking up their form this season. The match is scheduled to take place on December 5 at the Etihad Stadium by 16:00.
A point in Portugal 🇵🇹🤝
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 1, 2020
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/jF9zVe1JcL
