Boss has Guard of honour for battling Blues!
PEP Guardiola’s celebration at the John Smith’s Stadium was widely picked up on.
The pumped fists, the way he rushed to congratulate his players and applaud the away fans on Sunday were all noted as a signal of how much that victory meant to him and City.
What, then, can be said about the reaction to last night?
A game that had simmered fairly timidly all evening, only occasionally threatening to boil over in the stands when Fraser Forster would take an age over a goal kick, turned into a volcano of emotion that engulfed the stadium.
Guardiola had to be calmed down by the referee after he tried to follow his players in a mad dash across the pitch after Raheem Sterling’s dramatic winner with the final kick of the game.
He joked afterwards that he was just trying - and failing - to keep up with his matchwinner and that it was a disaster to see the injured Benjamin Mendy joining in the sprint. There was relief, too, at the end of what threatened to be a frustrating night.
“I think all the supporters create some special moments,” he said.
“Tonight in the last breath we enjoyed the situation so you have to celebrate.
“It was a good moment in the last minute, what happened in the locker room with all the staff, that’s why our job makes sense.
“It was an astonishing end to the game. It means a lot. They had 10 guys in the box, it was so complicated to attack them.
“They had chances in the first half, all the teams are better than us at set-pieces. They are stronger than us but we kept patient.
“At the end our momentum kept going, Raheem scores a fantastic goal.
“What impresses the most is the heart with which they play. What happened in the locker room was amazing. You have to enjoy these situations, you never know what will happen in the future. We want to win the league but you have to celebrate when you score in the last breath like that.” Guardiola sounded increasingly anguished at the way teams are trying to negate his side, and is still convinced the winning and unbeaten runs will end. However, the spirit and effort his team have put in ensure the coach will not be disappointed when it does happen. “We have got a lot of games in our legs, big wars,” he said. “We were close today to drawing. We are going to draw and lose. When that happens I can’t be angry with the players. “We were the only team who tried to win. “They had a lot of people behind the ball and didn’t want to attack. When they do that it’s so complicated.” Pep Guardiola