DE BRUY No pen & stink for plucky Pep
PEP GUARDIOLA has forced his players to practise penalties ahead of today’s Carabao Cup Final.
The Manchester City boss has seen Sergio Aguero (left) Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Ilkay Gundogan all miss from the spot this season. When Kevin De Bruyne scored from 12 yards to claim a famous Champions League victory over Real Madrid in the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, it was only the 11th penalty City have converted in 16 attempts this season.
Guardiola is a notorious control freak but the Blues lifted the Carabao Cup by beating Chelsea in a shootout last year. And he said: “The guys who want to take penalties practise quite often but I am not a big fan of it.
“I believe that it’s all about how you feel before you take a penalty. You are at Wembley, under pressure, so it is in your head.
“If you say, ‘Okay, I am going to score’ – that is the way. When you have doubts, you miss.
“I don’t care if they go right, left, up, down or Panenka, look at the keeper or don’t look at the keeper.
“The only thing that matters is that the player thinks they will score – because normally they will.”
Guardiola has an idea who he will ask to step up if the clash with Aston Villa is deadlocked after 120 minutes.
He added: “Sometimes I write who I would love to see take the penalties but then I leave it to the players because during the game it is all about confidence.
“If a guy misses a penalty and they tell me they were sure they were going to score, then it isn’t a problem.
“But if they miss and then later say they had doubts that is no good.”
HANDS OFF! Belgium ace De Bruyne has been a key man for City in recent weeks