LONDON • Pep Guardiola has denied Manchester City are lacking motivation in their bid to reel in Premier League leaders Liverpool.
The champions blew a golden opportunity to close the gap to one point in midweek when they slumped to a shock loss at Newcastle and they rued that even more the day after when the Reds dropped two points at home to Leicester.
At his pre-match press conference yesterday, Guardiola was in a defiant mood, claiming his players "would not be here" if they were not up for "the challenge".
He told reporters: "We are not happy about the last performance. We knew immediately at half-time and after, we know that.
"(But) that is the process many times when people say (we are) the perfect team and invincibles. Every game is a challenge to see what we can do better and how we can beat the opponents.
"All the results this week it was difficult for (Manchester) United and the teams in the top six to win their games. There are a lot of games and to sustain, it is tough."
Although he was comforted after the Liverpool draw, he warned his players if "their level was the last game, (then) it doesn't matter".
The 48-year-old also brushed off the controversy surrounding a now-deleted tweet from City defender Kyle Walker, who appeared to mock the league front runners following their slip-up at Anfield, saying he was "not concerned as I can't control it".
DENIS THE MENACE?
He has adapted very quickly and also his ambition, he wants to do something important here. It is a good challenge for him and for us.
UNAI EMERY, Arsenal manager, on new boy Denis Suarez who is on loan from Barcelona.
Turning his attention to their league game with Arsenal at the Etihad tomorrow, Guardiola felt Unai Emery's men "were a tough side", before singling out Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as their dangermen.
New loanee Denis Suarez will likely be given his debut against his former club given that Arsenal have "a lot of problems with wingers".
The Spain midfielder, who made only two appearances for City from 2011-13 before returning to his country, was the Gunners' sole signing in the January transfer window, which closed on Thursday evening.
Arsenal have the option to make his loan move from Barcelona permanent for £20 million (S$35.3 million) in the summer and Suarez knows impressing against City will go a long way to ensuring his future remains at the Emirates.
His manager Emery also backed the 25-year-old to win over naysayers like pundit Alan Smith, who has dismissed him as nothing more than a "squad player".
The former Arsenal striker told the Mirror: "How much will he play though? Arsenal fans would have loved to have seen a little bit more business in January."
But Emery defended their lack of activity in the market, insisting Suarez's qualities "can help us".
He said at his pre-game interview: "I know the player (the Spaniard coached him at Sevilla in the 2014-15 season). He started individual training yesterday and today, with the group.
"He has adapted very quickly and also his ambition, he wants to do something important here. It is a good challenge for him and for us."
Denying that Suarez's arrival meant there would be even less playing time for Mesut Ozil, Emery insisted there was "no change" in the squad's pecking order.
He also confirmed his side's defensive crisis had eased up slightly, with captain Laurent Koscielny back in full training and in contention to play against Guardiola's men.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MAN CITY V ARSENAL
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, Monday, 12.30am
Top 10 Greatest Comebacks In Football History - YouTube
Araibi was a vocal critic of AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, a member of Bahrain's ruling family and cousin of the king, when he contested the FIFA presidential election in 2015. The post FIFA says in regular contact with AFC over detained refugee player appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
BARCELONA — Lionel Messi put Barcelona on the verge of the Champions League final with a devastating double in a 3-0 home win over Liverpool in the first leg of their last-four clash on Wednesday, taking his goal tally for the Catalans to 600. The Argentine's milestone goal was a moment of
Messi torments Liverpool with 600th Barca goal in 3-0 win
The Housing Act 1919 resulted in mass council housing being built across Liverpool during the 1920s and 1930s. Thousands of families were relocated from the inner-city to new suburban housing estates, based on the belief that this would improve their standard of living, though this is largely subjective.
Man Utd and Liverpool look to sign £70m Lille winger Pep but
Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has fuelled speculation about his future by confirming he is no longer contracted to Molde. The fan favourite joined on a deal until the end of the season 2018-19 season, after the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December. The intention was for
Solskjaer confirms his contract in Norway has expired
Southampton stun fading Tottenham, Newcastle edge five-goal Everton thriller Southampton staged a superb fightback to boost their bid for Premier League survival with a shock 2-1 win that left
Southampton stun fading Spurs, Newcastle edge five-goal
starrsportsgh.com/2019/03/southampton-stun-fading-spurs-newcastle-edge-five-goal-everton-thriller/
Brighton also boosted their survival hopes thanks to Anthony Knockaert's brilliant strike to win 2-1 at Crystal Palace, while Newcastle battled back from 2-0 down to beat Everton 3-2. Despite their poor domestic form of late, Spurs were boosted by victory at Borussia Dortmund in midweek to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Southampton stun fading Spurs, Newcastle edge Everton in five
Manchester City Pep Guardiola predicts roller-coaster title run-in after Liverpool blip Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes critics have been too quick to write off his side's chances
Guardiola predicts roller-coaster title run-in after
Jun 05, 2019 · Rare Earths Battle Looms as U.S. Aims to Counter China Export Threat The Department's release of a report outlining steps to ensure supply came hours after the Asian nation's top state
30 years after Tiananmen, the tanks are gone but the
Pep Guardiola's bid to win the Champions League for the first time since 2011 will come under threat from his old friend Mauricio Pochettino when Manc Pochettino plans to ruin old pal
Pochettino plans to ruin old pal Guardiola's Champions League bid
A prominent Iranian politician on Tuesday called for players in the country's national football team to be punished for clashing with their Japanese opponents after losing in the Asia Cup semi-finals.
Call In Iran For Footballers To Be Punished Over Japan Melee
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 First Leg - Olympique Lyonnais v FC Barcelona - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - February 19, 2019 Barcelona's Lionel Messi shoots at goal from a free
Football: Wasteful Barca held to goalless draw at defiant Lyon
(Reuters) - Aston Villa beat Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion 4-3 on penalties to reach the Championship playoff final on Tuesday after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate. Tammy Abraham, on loan from Chelsea, scored the decisive spot kick to send Villa into a Wembley final against either Derby
Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom
London (AFP) - Eden Hazard came to Maurizio Sarri's rescue as the Chelsea star's superb late strike earned a 1-1 draw against Wolves on Sunday. Sarri's side were seconds away from another damaging defeat after Raul Jimenez put Wolves ahead at Stamford Bridge.
Almoez Ali scored with a spectacular overhead kick for a record ninth goal of the Asian Cup to set Qatar on their way to a first continental title with a stunning 3-1 win over four-times champions
Sport Ali on target as Qatar stun Japan to win first Asian Cup
Proper Gapping Instructions If it is necessary to widen the gap, do so with a tool that only pulls back on the ground electrode without touching the center electrode or the porcelain. To close the gap on a plug, gently tap the plug, electrode first on a hard surface.
0 comments:
Post a Comment