Guardiola feels his side are back to their best after Villa win
‘We have improved a lot… everyone is so focused’: Pep Guardiola feels his Manchester City side are finally back to their best after faltering since the World Cup as champions look to rein in Arsenal in the Premier League title race
- Manchester City put in an solid performance on Sunday as they beat Aston Villa
- Pep Guardiola praised his side for ‘improving a lot’ in the past few days
- City face a key battle against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Wednesday
Pep Guardiola declared that Manchester City’s stars are finally back firing during training after a prolonged malaise.
The City boss, who is hopeful Erling Haaland will prove his fitness for Wednesday’s clash at Arsenal after picking up a thigh problem during yesterday’s victory over Aston Villa, has been critical of his squad since the World Cup.
Guardiola has not seen the focus and desire required during training, with City having lost three times in January, and made several references to the body language of his players.
‘The way we have been in the training over the last week or 10 days, we have improved a lot,’ said Guardiola. ‘Everyone is so focused. Kyle Walker is back with the way he’s behaving. The same with many players.’
Joao Cancelo left City just under a fortnight ago, moving to Bayern Munich on loan.
Pep Guardiola praised his Man City side after they beat Aston Villa on Sunday
He said his players had ‘improved a lot’ in the past 10 days of training
Erling Haaland went off at half time with a knock but is expected to return for City’s next game
Guardiola added: ‘Behaving well is the only chance to be competitive. That doesn’t make it easier for you to win but without that it’s impossible.’
Haaland was sacrificed as a precaution at half-time after an impact injury when colliding with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. The 31-goal striker had been overlooked to take a penalty, converted by Riyad Mahrez, before being replaced.
‘At half-time I spoke to the doctors and they said not to take a risk at 3-0,’ said Guardiola. ‘If the result was tighter then maybe I don’t do it. I don’t think he’s too injured but if he’s not ready, or if it’s too much of a risk, he will not play against Arsenal.’
On the discussion surrounding the penalty taker, Guardiola said: ‘Normally Erling takes it. I wanted that. Riyad always tries to do it, Rodri was involved. There is one who is the main player, which is Erling. We will talk about that tomorrow.’
Villa suffered consecutive defeats for the first time under manager Unai Emery, who blamed this one on individual errors.
He said: ‘It was the worst performance we’ve had. The first mistake we made, they scored. The second goal was a big mistake between the goalkeeper and Calum Chambers, the communication wasn’t good.’
Striker Ollie Watkins, who scored Villa’s consolation, held his hands up for the error as Rodri headed in the early opener.
‘Don’t get me wrong, they are world-class players but we were too soft, me especially when Rodri ran past me for that goal,’ said Watkins. ‘I should have made the second block and I feel I let us down. Against City you cannot give away easy goals.’
Unai Emery said his Villa side’s performance was the ‘worst’ since he took over the club
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