Read all about what Pep Guardiola said after Manchester City’s victory over Brentford, along with all the other news od the day.
Erling Haaland praised by Pep Guardiola
With Haaland in such fine form, Guardiola has been impressed with the way he overcame a difficult patch.
The City manager is looking ahead to the future and has pointed out one way in which his players can help Haaland to be more involved across a whole match.
Speaking in his press conference after Man City’s win over Brentford, Guardiola said: “It’s incredible! There was a period where he was so tired when he came back from Norway qualification and struggled, but it’s for the amount of minutes.
“For example, I saw the minutes of [Ousmane] Dembele in PSG compared to Erling – he has 2,000 more!
“It’s a lot of minutes, and he carries on, and the moment Omar [Marmoush] was in AFCON. Erling always is Erling, a threat for opponents, set-pieces, sense of goal,” he continued.
“It’s just we have to bring more players closer to him when we arrive from sides, more players there, because we’ll score more and more goals.
“When he’s alone in the box, it’s so difficult for him to score!”
Andree Jeglertz’s team talk ahead of FA Women’s Cup semi-final
Ahead of the semi-final, Andree Jeglertz instilled wisdom on his team by pointing out that they were already winners.
Yet one trophy is not enough, as the players should always be looking to add to their list of accomplishments.
In a moment captured by Man City, he said: “The whole year we have been speaking about being a winning team. Now we are a winning team. But what do we then expect from winners?
“We expect that we always want a little bit more. So we reached something, we have confidence knowing wow, we are a great team, but we always want a little bit more.
“We always want to do the next performance even better. Now we want to play Wembley. It’s only up to us.
“By having the confidence, knowing that wow, we are a great team, we are a winning team and we are winners,” he continued.
“But we also show it now when we go out on the field with confidence, doing everything with determination.
“The other thing, just also saying this about staying connected during the whole game no matter what, if we are in momentum or without.”
Jegertz added: “Always speak, communicate with each other, then we will get into a big flow and get a good result.”
Giorgi Kinkladze wants Man City fans to believe
Man City supporters are experiencing mixed emotions right now, with the title race looking like it could go either way.
Nerves are higher than they have been all season, but Kinkladze wants the fans to remain calm and give their full backing to Pep Guardiola and his players.
“Some of my best memories in football are moments like this – pure chaos, pure joy, pure Manchester City,” he posted on X in relation to an image of him celebrating with City fans.
“This club has never been only about winning trophies. It’s about the people who stayed. The fans who believed through difficult years, empty moments, and tough title races.
“That’s why moments of success always mean more here. Right now the team needs that same energy again. Not panic, not doubt. Support,” he continued.
“Stand behind the badge until the very end, because if football has taught City fans anything over the years, it’s that everything can change in one moment. Keep believing.”
Pep Guardiola will make changes against Crystal Palace
Guardiola used to be known as the manager who would bring players in and out of his team all the time. Anyone who plays the popular Fantasy Premier League game would certainly know this to be the case.
However, recently he seems to have found a starting lineup he is happy with, meaning there have been minimal changes each game.
This has not always been an option though, most recently due to Rodri’s ongoing injury. Additionally, Guardiola now needs to think about how to use his best talents while avoiding the risk of burnout.
Speaking in his press conference after Man City’s 3-0 win over Brentford, the manager said: “The next games I’m going to rotate the team. Otherwise we cannot arrive for the FA Cup final, or Bournemouth a little bit. We’ll see the [Arsenal] result and after we’ll make decisions.”
Jeremy Doku can become one of the world’s best
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Guardiola highlighted how Doku’s mentality is helping him to improve.
For this reason, the manager believes Doku could one day become as good as the best wingers in the world.
He said: ““It depends on your mentality. ‘I want to become one of the best wingers in the world’. Otherwise you’re in comfort zone, saying ‘it’s fine, it’s fine’.
“Jeremy has always had dribbles, work ethic, always tried. He said ‘no, I want to be one of the best’. That’s when you reach that level.
“For sure [he can reach level of Vinicius and Yamal]. He’s always accepted being pushed. That is so nice. We are really pleased. Not now, since he arrived,” Guardiola continued.
“Now he’s winning games, scoring goals, but he’s always been really, really good.”
