TOP TWO STAY Pep won’t bow to pressure
PEP GUARDIOLA was vilified in some quarters for his shadow selection for the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool – a game City lost 3-2. Perhaps he knew what he was doing after all.
Last night’s convincing win at Elland Road made it four high-pressure wins out of four for his side since and 16 goals scored in the process.
The juggling act that is management at this time of the season, for a side which is chasing glory on different fronts, is a difficult one.
But as Guardiola pointed out after the first of those victories against Brighton he could not have expected Kevin De Bruyne to function as effectively as he did that night had he not enjoyed the down time atwembley.
Guardiola rested De Bruyne again yesterday – one of five changes from the side which beat Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in midweek – hoping for the same response at the Bernabeu in the second leg from mothballing his most influential player.
Over in Spain, Carlo Ancelotti made eight changes with one eye on Wednesday, including the benching of Karim Benzema
– but then again that is less of a gamble when a side is 14 points clear.
Real beat Espanyol anyway to clinch La Liga.
For Guardiola yesterday’s selection, even with the depth of his squad, was a calculated risk with Liverpool panting rapidly close behind City and Jurgen Klopp’s side winners earlier in the day at Newcastle.
Leeds may not be the best team in the Premier League but, thanks to Burnley’s resurrection, they are fighting for their lives at the moment.
Elland Road may not be the most up to date stadium in the division but it is still a visceral hairs-on-theback-of-the-neck experience for any visiting team.
Jack Grealish was on the receiving end yesterday, booed whenever he had the ball and the constant target of scrunched-up paper mosaic sheets – which spelled out the word ‘Yorkshire’ before kick-off – hurled from the stands towards the touchline.
When one connected as he prepared to take a corner there were hearty cheers.
Leeds, asked to be “pesky” by their American manager Jesse Marsch, harried and hassled enthusiastically but despite the huff and puff of Marsch’s men, City had the extra element of class in the end.
Another hurdle cleared, the double remains in their hands.
Guardiola says he is loving the experience of chasing it down but it is a strange type of love.
There were signs of the angst it triggers in midweek against Real when he was booked for his technical area remonstrating.
He was outside it as much as he was inside it, such was his desperation to influence the game.
However much they crave control, the 90 minutes of the game is when managers lose any semblance of it and at this time of the season in particular that is hard to deal with.
Guardiola was on his feet, pacing the edge of his zone inside five minutes yesterday, spooked by a slip from Joao Cancelo which gave Leeds a glorious early opening only for Ilkay Gundogan to ride to the rescue and block Rodrigo’s shot.
You might have thought Rodri’s opener would have settled him but on a couple of occasions, as Leeds pressed at the end of the first half, Guardiola was down on his imaginary blocks like a sprinter – padded coat on and padded cell beckoning.
The coat gave way to a club sweatshirt after the break and Nathan Ake struck for City’s second but still the tension was not diffused for their manager.
When City grew sloppy, Guardiola grew stroppy, flailing his arms around like a conductor on Beethoven’s Fifth.
Only when Gabriel Jesus wrapped things up did he finally chill, with the Fernandinho goal that rounded matters off even bringing a smile.
Three more points in the bag. Back to the top of the table.
A brief respite for Guardiola before the pressure lever is reactivated against Real in Spain on Wednesday.