Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has talked up his side’s chances of going all the way in another season despite the spate of injuries he has to deal with.
The Catalan has managed City for nine years and in that time, has had to deal with injuries and squad gaps. Still, he has managed to be one of the most successful managers in the world with groundbreaking tactics and a bit of shrewd transfer spending. This time around, however, injuries to key players like Rodri and useful talents like Oscar Bobb are giving the club’s fans a cause for concern, leading to media inquiry into how the former Barcelona manager intends to deal with the issue.
“During seven or eight years we handle it. Nine years I would say as it’s my ninth season here. It’s always been like that. The same. No change,” he said. “This season we have a long, long injuries list especially with Oscar and with Rodri for a long, long time that is completely different from the past but the schedules are the same.”
Guardiola also talked about the returning İlkay Gündoğan, who captained the side to an unprecedented treble in the 2022/23 season before heading to Barcelona to spend the 2023/24 season. The former Germany international did not do pre-season with the team but has slotted in seamlessly, having met his former teammates and a similar style and philosophy to what he left during his year’s stint at Barcelona.
“It will take time,” he said. “He didn’t make a pre-season and needs to [get into] the rhythm – but he gives you something special but of course he will take it [time].”
Guardiola was saying all these in answer to questions from journalists during his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s UEFA Champions League clash with Slovan Bratislava. The manager also spoke about his opponents and their courage.
“This is a team that I would say plays with courage,” said Guardiola. “I saw the game against Glasgow Celtic and they were not scared to play. Not scared to link with their striker when they want to try it.”
“In the Champions League it doesn’t matter, I always have incredible respect for all the teams, especially when you play away. Hopefully we can be an aggressive team again and take a result.”
John Stones also chipped in with thoughts about the game, stating that he feels comfortable in any role asked of him by the manager and that he and his teammates have to show belief in order to win at an unfamiliar ground.
