AFP PETER POWELL
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach, said that the recent increase in the level of his team is due to the players’ success in controlling matches without the need for “excessive jogging”.
City was not playing steadily at the beginning of the season, but it improved a lot and achieved six consecutive victories in all competitions, which is the most successful period for the team during the current season.
If City beat Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, it will be four points away from leaders Manchester United, and Guardiola’s side will have one game left.
“The only difference is that we run less,” Guardiola said.
He continued, “We used to run too much. When you play football you have to walk or run less.”
He added, “When you do not have the ball, you should run, but when you have the ball, you can stay in your position and let the ball move, not you. We have improved in these matches for this reason.”
🗣️ “We were running too much. When you play football you have to walk or run much, much less.”
Pep Guardiola believes Man City’s recent upturn in form is down to his players grasping how they can dictate games without “running too much”.
– SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 13, 2021
read more
City scored 24 goals in 15 matches, the lowest of the first nine teams in the competition, but since the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion on December 15, the team has scored 15 goals in their last six matches in all competitions.
Guardiola said: “It is natural that after achieving good results and levels, people think that we can again do what we were doing in the past, and with that we need to continue working in this way.”
Source: “Reuters”
