Pep fears for City in Barcelona

Everton frustrate City for draw as Guardiola insists: I’ll never play like they did

PEP GUARDIOLA fears Manchester City may suffer a crisis of confidence in the Nou Camp on Wednesday after they have now gone three matches without a win — but he intends to lift the mood and ensure they can play Barcelona at their own passing game on his return to his former club.

City dominated against Everton yesterday but drew 1-1, following a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham and a 3-3 draw at Celtic, which halted their all-conquering start of 10 straight victories.

Asked if his team’s confidence might suffer at the home of the Spanish champions, Guardiola said: ‘Maybe. If you analyse the three results where we haven’t won, I try to analyse why we didn’t win. That is my job. So of course the confidence and the mood is much better when you win. But, guys, we are professional enough so that when we win we stay stable and when we lose, we analyse the reason why.’

But Guardiola insists he will take on Barcelona with his own passing football. ‘In Barcelona, for the last 15 years, they dominate possession the way they play,’ he said. ‘I love the way they play. I’m going to accept to win or to lose and the team will be judged by that but, I’m sorry guys, I’m never going to change the way I play football.

‘It’s the only thing I have. I can make a lot of mistakes and be judged by many things, but I only have one power: my teams play the way I want. No regrets.

‘Try to be optimistic for what is going to happen in the future.’

Elsewhere, 10-man Arsenal held on to beat Swansea 3-2 despite the sending-off of Granit Xhaka. The Gunners leapfrogged Tottenham into second, after Spurs needed a late Dele Alli goal to salvage a point at West Brom. Chelsea demolished Leicester 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to move level with Liverpool, who can go top tomorrow night if they defeat Manchester United at Anfield by a four-goal margin.

THERE were two disciples of Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona dream team at The Etihad yesterday. Pep Guardiola used to share a room with Ronald Koeman, when one was the big-money foreign signing and the other a scrawny Catalan teenager straight out of the third team.

‘Teach him what you know,’ Cruyff told Koeman. And so began an education, Guardiola peppering Koeman with questions about Ajax, Total Football and the Cruyff way.

Twenty-five years on, the teachings appear to have developed divergent paths. One of the disciples has kept to the straight and narrow. The other seems to have gone somewhat heretical.

You might argue, that Guardiola has been blessed with greater resources, better players and so can more easily keep the faith. Koeman has had to make Faustian pacts.

Yet Koeman is not normally a man who eschews possession — though he does combine it with a streak of pragmatism. Yesterday was just such an occasion.

At times, especially it the first half, it seemed Manchester City might bust the possession statistics and somehow go beyond 100 per cent. Koeman was that confident in his team’s ability to withstand City’s passing that his players made next to no attempt to circumnavigate it.

Dropping Ross Barkley for Tom Cleverley was a signal of intent. This team were built to withstand rather than create. True, City did without Sergio Aguero for much of the game, with one eye on Barcelona this week. But they were still a side built to pass, move and score.

How smooth City looked; how delightful were their passes; and how magisterial did those possession statistics look.

It counted for nothing when their back three, conceding space aplenty, crumbled when faced with a long ball from defence, which was flicked on by Yannick Bolasie to leave Romelu Lukaku bearing down on goal with Gael Clichy to beat in the 64th minute. When Clichy was brushed aside and Lukaku finished decisively in the far corner — his ninth goal in seven games — it was the equivalent of a Richard Dawkins tract being read aloud at Westminster Abbey: an open attack on Cruyff and Guardiola.

‘World class,’ said Everton boss Koeman. For Guardiola it was almost as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to say what he thought of Koeman’s tactics. ‘I have all respect for Ronald. He’s a real friend of mine.

‘Never in my life have I given an opinion about my colleagues, because they know the reality of what they are, they know their players better than me, they know the possibility of their players. The way we tried to play, we created enough chances to win the game. They had one chance — one — in 90 minutes. Football is like this. All my career I faced these types of teams.’

Yet never will he imitate the tactics, not on Wednesday when he returns to his and Koeman’s former home at Nou Camp.

‘I love the way Barcelona play,’ insisted Guardiola. ‘I’m going to accept [the result], win or lose, but, I’m sorry guys, never am I going to change the way I play football. It’s the only thing I have.

‘I can make a lot of mistakes and be judged by many things but I only have one power: my teams play the way I want. No regrets.’

Koeman was more than happy though with his deviation from the faith. ‘After 20 minutes we hadn’t had the ball,’ he said. ‘Though our defensive organisation was fantastic. Of course you need luck to get a good result but we got it because the fighting spirit was unbelievable.’

City are for Koeman, not just the best team in the Premier League but the best he has faced in his managerial career. ‘Really high, top football, tempo, pressing — and we made some mistakes because of that,’ said the Dutchman. ‘I’m pleased with the point. We didn’t deserve more. Maybe we didn’t deserve one.’

Indeed, Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was exceptional, saving two penalties and making two other outstanding second-half saves. ‘He maybe played his best game ever,’ said Koeman.

The sheer weight of City’s pressure had to produce something and David Silva wriggling his way through a forest of Everton arms and legs in the 44th minute drew a penalty from Phil Jagileka. Kevin De Bruyne struck it firmly, but shot close enough to Stekelenburg for him to parry away.

Guardiola reached for Aguero in the 56th minute and it was the Argentine who was fouled for City’s second penalty — Jagielka again the culprit — five minutes after Lukaku’s goal. Aguero stepped up to take it, but the result was the same, Stekelenburg diving to his left to parry away. It Aguero’s his fourth miss of the season from spot, three for City.

A minute later Stekenlenburg touched away a curling shot from Aguero. Eventually, he could not hold back the tide. Nolito had just arrived on the pitch when he met a David Silva cross to head home the equaliser with 18 minutes to play.

De Bruyne might have won it 10 minutes later, his deflected shot heading for the corner until Stekelenburg quite brilliantly plucked it form the air and tipped it wide.

As it was, points were shared and the meaning of football life remained unresolved.