Pep Guardiola admits he feared a efficiency like Manchester City’s below-par show of their midweek Carabao Cup loss to Southampton was coming.
City slumped to a shock quarter-final exit by the hands of the Premier League’s backside facet at St Mary’s on Wednesday, failing to register a single shot on the right track in a 2-0 defeat.
Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan stated after the sport he thought the crew lacked starvation and Guardiola agreed, feeling the drop in his facet’s standard requirements was a pure comedown from all their current successes.
“What happened didn’t surprise me,” stated the City supervisor, whose facet face arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend. “I tried to avoid it.
“It happened and hopefully it won’t happen again but it’s happened because we did four Premier Leagues in five years. Sometimes you have to reset.
“This was our strength as a team in previous seasons but after back-to-back (titles) two times, this can happen. We were not ready to go there and be ourselves.
“I’m not talking about winning the Carabao Cup or winning games (now), it’s about being ourselves and behaving how we have to do in every single game.
“I was a little bit concerned at the beginning of the season that this could happen, and unfortunately it happened. I don’t know if it will happen again but there are no concerns about it at all.”
It was recommended to Guardiola that followers wouldn’t have favored listening to Gundogan’s feedback however the City boss doesn’t really feel that is a matter.
He stated: “City fans cannot complain about what this team is able to do, and has done, and will do – and we cannot talk on behalf of City fans, because there are millions and we don’t know what every single one thinks.”
The Southampton loss was hardly the best preparation for this weekend’s derby, no matter the truth that Guardiola is prone to restore the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland to his beginning line-up.
City thrashed their neighbours 6-3 when the perimeters final met in October however United have improved significantly since then, shedding simply one among their final 18 video games.
Guardiola stated: “That’s normal. A new manager has arrived, many things have settled, and the improvement is clear, not just in terms of results but everything.
“I have the feeling every time I’ve been to Old Trafford or United came to the Etihad that it’s been a difficult game.
“They are always attractive games, both teams try to win, there are a lot of quality players in both sides. It will be a good game.”
Guardiola stated he had some “ridiculous” tactical plans to fight United earlier within the week however he claims individuals learn an excessive amount of into his remarks.
“It was a joke,” he stated.
City can be with out in-form defender John Stones on Saturday because the England worldwide remains to be scuffling with the health problem that prevented him taking part in at Southampton.
“He is not ready,” Guardiola stated.
