PEP PREDICTS A CITY ‘EXPLOSION’ AFTER TOON MEET THE DEMOLITION SQUAD

MUCH has been made of Pep Guardiola’s mood and demeanour this season. Do they signify that the fabled mojo is disappearing? So it is only right to recognise that a 17-minute dissection of what appeared to be a standard win over inferior opposition on Saturday night suggested he is in a pretty good place. Manchester City, boasting the Premier League’s best defence, are chipping away in their pursuit of Liverpool. Goals have been hard to come by, but two in particular over the last fortnight have shown Guardiola that City are threatening to motor. Both were scored by midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. Both were converted inside the box from Raheem Sterling cutbacks. Both could have been lifted straight from the commemorative Centurions DVD of the 2017-18 title-winning season. A winger is played inside his full back, darting towards the byline. He looks sideways, observes onrushing midfielders finding half a yard of space, and the ball is in the net. That is the hallmark of Guardiola’s City at their best. The first came against West Bromwich, on a night when City eventually toiled to a 1-1 draw. But the signs were there. The second came against Newcastle, on a night when City drew huge praise from their manager. The goals look simple but we know by now that they are not. Sterling scored a similar one at Southampton, assisted by Kevin De Bruyne. ‘When we contact several players in several positions at the right moment, we make an explosion,’ Guardiola said. ‘Newcastle was maybe one of the first days that we saw it. That is why I’m happy. ‘We win games as a consequence of the way we play. Every team have their own way. Our way is like this: everyone in his position doing what he has to do. It’s not passing the ball for passing the ball’s sake. It’s passing the ball with sense. If our midfielder arrives more in the box, it is because our build-up is better. We have won games when we were not playing at the right tempo. Football is about time.’ Guardiola will impress on his players that they cannot let up at Everton tonight. City are also hoping for good news when they find out the

results before Gabriel tonight’s of Jesus another are game. self-isolating round Kyle of coronavirus testing Walker along and with two members of staff after testing positive last week. The squad were tested yesterday. Coming through the matches with Everton and then Chelsea on Sunday with good results ought to open up a run at Liverpool — who City now trail by just six points with a game in hand — given an appealing run of fixtures next month. ‘We have to continue to do this knowing that this year is so weird, so complicated,’ Guardiola added. ‘Look at the results! Everyone has dropped points. What we’re looking for is our game back. I don't know how many millions of passes we had against Newcastle, but that is the way we want to play, picking the right moment to attack. Everyone respected their position and

accepted that maybe you can help the team do what they have to do. With our positional game, that is the most important thing. ‘Raheem didn’t touch many balls but helped the others to play our game. And the moment it is time for Raheem to intervene, he is decisive.’ Two other protagonists will have a huge say about how this season develops: Sergio Aguero and De Bruyne, both of whom are having their minutes managed. Aguero was in contention to start on Saturday but came off the bench, while De Bruyne has started only three cup matches. ‘Kevin is one of the biggest stars in the world right now but runs without the ball like he is a guy in the Conference,’ Guardiola said. ‘He’s outstanding. I prefer to have him fit in the Premier League.

‘The other competitions are important but we don’t want to be too far away from the top of the League. We are going to be close to the top. Then we can fight to be top in the last eight or 10 games.’

MANCHESTER CITY (4-1-4-1): Ederson 7; Cancelo 8, Stones 7, Dias 7, Ake 7.5; Rodri 7 (Fernandinho 58min, 6); Sterling 8, De Bruyne 6.5, GUNDOGAN 9 (Foden 90), Bernardo 6.5; Torres 7.5 (Aguero 77). Subs not used: Steffen, Zinchenko, Mendy, Laporte, Palmer, Mahrez. Scorers: Gundogan 14, Torres 55. Booked: Rodri, Cancelo. Manager: Pep Guardiola 7. NEWCASTLE (5-4-1): Darlow 7; Yedlin 5.5, Schar 6.5, Fernandez 6, Clark 6, Ritchie 5.5 (Lewis 66, 6); Murphy 6, M Longstaff 6.5, Hayden 6, Almiron 6.5 (Gayle 82); Joelinton 6 (Carroll 71, 6). Subs not used: Gillespie, Krafth, Manquillo, Anderson, S Longstaff, Wilson. Booked: Schar, Ritchie. Manager: Steve Bruce 6. Referee: Andre Marriner 7.