Guardiola hopes City’s spot of bother is over
PEP Guardiola is hopeful City have overcome their penalty woes after Kevin de Bruyne fired in another goal from the spot.
The team have been plagued by misses this season, with failed attempts from Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan - some costlier than others.
De Bruyne stepped up when the Blues needed to convert at the Bernabeu to complete City’s turnaround in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with the Spanish giants and then stepped up to stroke the ball home against Arsenal on the return of the Premier League earlier this month.
Mahrez stepped up with the Belgian on the bench against Burnley and scored and De Bruyne made it four in a row for the team when he got the opening goal against Newcastle.
As Guardiola reflects on a campaign that has seen them fail to retain the league title, the coach knows how important penalties have been for the team and how significant they could be to their chances of winning the two competitions they still could.
“Hopefully he can maintain this level because we have struggled a lot this season,” said Guardiola.
“We have missed five or six penalties I think - too much - with different takers.
“We have struggled a lot and I remember many games where we dropped points and now Kevin takes the responsibility. He has scored three or four goals and it is important for us to have his confident personality to continue to score goals.”
De Bruyne has now been directly involved in 30 goals this season and he is happy to carry on with the penalty duties.
He said: “We had a few problems with penalties this year.
“The gaffer asked me to step up and I have scored a couple now.’’
Meanwhile, the Belgian revealed he is not a fan of games being played behind closed doors.
He said: “We know it is really weird [playing behind closed doors] and it is not something I enjoy, but we are professionals and we need to keep going.”
Midfielder De Bruyne was asked to play in a deeper position at Newcastle after a request from Guardiola.
“In my career I have played lots of positions and the gaffer asked me to try something new because Newcastle play with a back five,” he explained.
“I just work for the team.”