Pep set to strike if Conte’s men falter
City boss believes Arsenal victory will be psychological boost All Spurs want is that Champions spot
MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola said his side will be ready to pounce if Premier League leaders Chelsea falter following their impressive 2-1 comeback victory over title rivals Arsenal.
Chelsea have streaked clear at the summit thanks to a storming run of 11 consecutive victories.
City trail Antonio Conte’s side by seven points, having climbed to second place by coming from behind to beat Arsenal on Sunday, and Guardiola says the leaders are in their sights.
Asked if the win, secured by second-half goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling, would give City a psychological boost, Guardiola nodded and replied: “A lot.
“Seven points is a huge distance and when a team can make 11 victories in a row, you just can say congratulations.
“But at least to be there as much as possible, and waiting if the opponent fails sometimes, and waiting until the last part of the season to be there, to fight for the title.”
Since Guardiola’s arrival in England, following stellar stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, there has been huge interest in whether his passing principles will prevail in the pellmell Premier League.
The City manager triggered his team’s comeback by moving Kevin de Bruyne upfront at halftime and switching Sterling to the right flank, but he played down the significance of the decision.
“Because we won, now the trainer is a genius!” said Guardiola, who faced criticism following recent one-sided losses to Chelsea and Leicester City.
Guardiola said he had apologised to John Stones after benching the centre-back, a £47.5-million (R833-million) recruit from Everton, for the second game running.
But he hailed Yaya Toure, who has become an increasingly vital cog in midfield despite Guardiola initially freezing him out.
Asked if Toure’s form might earn the 33-year-old an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of the season, Guardiola replied: “No answer to that question.
“I know he finishes his contract. Now we have time to discuss about that. What I am impressed most [by] is his huge quality.
“He looks like a boy. He played awesome. It is not in terms of when he has the ball, it’s the personality.
“When we are in trouble, he goes there, asks for the ball, pass, pass. When Yaya plays at that level, because he is fit and focused, he is an exceptional, exceptional player.”
German winger Sane cancelled out Theo Walcott’s fifthminute opener two minutes into the second half, bursting onto David Silva’s lofted pass to slot his first City goal past Petr Cech.
He was given the benefit of the doubt in a tight offside call and Arsenal were aggrieved that Silva also got away with swishing a foot at Sterling’s decisive 71stminute shot as it flew past Cech.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his side had fallen to “two offside goals” and suggested match officials were unfairly protected from criticism, likening them to “lions in the zoo”.
He had previously been critical of the referee following Arsenal’s 2-1 loss at Everton last Tuesday, arguing the winning goal had stemmed from an incorrectly awarded corner.
The successive losses leave Arsenal nine points below Chelsea and Wenger said his team would need to tighten up defensively before they could even think about chasing down the pace-setters.
“We have to come back next week and win our game [at home to West Bromwich Albion],” he said.
“We had a horrible week, absolutely horrible, and what is worse, out of two good performances we get zero points and out of two leading positions, we lost two games. That of course is very disappointing.
“Before we think about the nine points, we have to come back to be realistic. For a while we have not kept a clean sheet [eight league games].
“If you want to play at the top, you have to keep clean sheets.” — AFP MAURICIO Pochettino says Tottenham are firmly back in the hunt for a Champions League place after battling back for a 2-1 win over Burnley.
Pochettino’s side moved within one point of fourth place, occupied by Arsenal, ahead of the pivotal Christmas schedule of games thanks to their spirited showing at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
After this season’s disappointing exit at the group stages of the Champions League, Pochettino wants another taste of Europe and he believes Spurs are still on course.
Tottenham are four points better off than at the same stage last year and Pochettino said: “We are fighting very close to the top four and that is important.
“In the Premier League, it is very hard to win games. Every game is so tough to earn three points.
“But it’s another step in the right direction.
“I think our position is good, now we are winning games and we are a little bit closer to the second position.
“It’s still a long way to the end of the season.
“We are in a position that we can attack the second half of the season and try to push a little bit more,” he said.
Tottenham were far from their best and were forced to come from behind after Ashley Barnes had opened the scoring for Burnley in their first goal from open-play on the road this season.
Dele Alli equalised but a combination of poor finishing, organised defending and Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton kept the hosts at bay until Danny Rose’s 71st minute winner.
“The manager always tells us to remain patient,” said Rose. “You have to at times against teams that sit back.
“The gaffer does not like myself and Kyle [Walker] both being high up the pitch at the same time but changed that tactic here.
“Kyle got his assist and I got the goal. The manager got his tactics spot on.”
Burnley will be in relegation scrap this season, but boss Sean Dyche believes his side are showing signs that can cure their away-day woes, having picked up just one point so far.
“We are a work in progress, but we have taken strides forward in the last couple of games,” said Dyche.
“A lot has been made of our away form but we are getting there. But we do need the rub of the green.”
Dyche felt Moussa Sissoko should have been red-carded for a high challenge on Stephen Ward and, to add insult to injury, the substitute created the winner for Rose.
“It was a blind challenge, a high challenge and simply a red,” said Dyche.
“Sissoko has to go off and he sets up the second goal which I’m disappointed about. My players’ reaction to a clear sending off is that he gets up. If he does 14 rolls then the referee is under pressure.
“But I don’t think our fans want to see our players rolling around on the floor,” he said. — AFP