WINTER IS COMING , PEP
Guardiola was right... City aren’t invincible after all and following a tough first defeat they face a big test of squad depth and mental strength at Christmas
THE one consolation in defeat for Pep Guardiola was being proved right.
Guardiola insists he never thought they were going to win the title unbeaten and it was only the media who were making comparisons to Arsenal’s Invincibles who did it in 2004.
The Manchester City boss was gracious in defeat after his champions lost at Chelsea but did not appreciate a question about whether it was a reminder about how tough the Premier League is.
“You don’t have to tell me how competitive this league is,” said Guardiola (right). “It’s you and your analysts that keep saying we are invincible, that we are perfect, how good we are and that in February we are going to win the league. You said that. All of you. Not the manager, not any player, not the club.
“What happened last season was because we were incredible, incredible.
“But after that, when everybody wants to beat us, being in the position we are, playing a lot of games in the position we have, in the way we want to play, that’s much more important than sometimes even winning.”
Guardiola maintained he is only interested in being champions rather than being invincible but also knows this is a dangerous period for his bigger ambition of being the first City boss to retain the title. That is the true mark of greatness and now comes the test because they suddenly look vulnerable as Chelsea showed they can be beaten and Guardiola’s squad is being tested to the limit. It was in the behind-the-scenes documentary All Or Nothing when Guardiola used the line from epic TV show Game of Thrones to warn: “Winter Is Coming.”
Now the fixtures are piling up and, with them, the injuries as they are already missing Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and then David Silva limped off with a hamstring problem.
Last season, they bought Aymeric Laporte in January for £57million to bolster their defence and maybe they might have to start thinking about doing the same next month. Aguero is a huge miss because Gabriel Jesus is struggling for form and confidence while Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane could not take chances at Chelsea which Aguero surely would have finished.
That was the difference between the teams because City dominated the first half, outclassed Chelsea and yet once N’Golo Kante scored a minute before the break, it gave the home side something to cling to.
City just could not find a way through and yet Chelsea played it brilliantly, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta were heroic in defence and the home side always looked dangerous going forward with Guardiola’s men committed to attack.
Referee Michael Oliver was wracked with doubt after the game, desperate to rewatch TV footage to see if Ross