Pep Guardiola claims, “You will see the real Guardiola on Sunday, even without Halaand, I will embarrass them,” after Manchester City’s 4-0 triumph against RB Leipzig last night.
The triple champions lost to Wolves in the Premier League at the weekend after Newcastle eliminated them from the Carabao Cup last week.
They went to Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday night after losing their last two matches there, and they put on an outstanding display, completely controlling the game on their route to a 3-1 victory.
There were a few anxious moments following Lois Openda’s equalizer shortly after halftime, but late goals from substitutes Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku sealed the three points.
Guardiola remained bullish ahead of the game, insisting he has always had complete faith in his team despite recent poor results and wants to play ‘our game’ in north London as City travels to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to face championship rivals Arsenal.
Guardiola responded to a question about the need for such a strong performance before playing Arsenal by saying: “Yeah, but I’m not going to judge my team on results.”
Both games [against Newcastle and Wolves] weren’t ideal, but defending with 10 men in the box is difficult.With 10 players, five players, four players, a striker, and a holding midfielder all in the box, defending is not simple.
The coach explains, “So it happened, we were unlucky with the first goal, we weren’t sharp enough, it occurred. Because there are so many games, I can understand.
But if you think that because we could have lost again today, I’m going to doubt the players or our plans for the season. You are not the right person to respond to these inquiries.
“I rely on these people without condition, whether they succeed or fail, because I am aware of their training sessions and their way of thinking, and they consistently demonstrate it.”
“And now we’re off to play our game at Arsenal.” Rest, and maybe we’ll be there [in the championship race] in the months of March, April, and May, right before the competitions.
And I have a feeling that we’ll be a tough opponent to beat.
After the victory over Leipzig, Guardiola singled out the youngster Rico Lewis, calling him “excellent,” and he may start in midfield against Arsenal in place of the suspended Rodri.
