Pep Guardiola has revealed what he told the Manchester City squad after the first-half of their league match against Tottenham Hotspurs on Tuesday.
The Cityzens needed a victory against the Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where they have suffered four consecutive defeats in league matches, and it looked like they wouldn’t break the curse as they were unable to find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes.
Fortunately for Pep Guardiola and his boys, Erling Haaland increased his Premier League goal to 26 just some minutes into the second-half. The Norwegian striker easily gave the City a lead with a tap-in from Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.
The Premier League champions double the lead from the spot-kick converted by Erling Haaland towards the end of the match. As a result of the match outcome, they moved to the top of the league standing with just a single match left to play over the weekend.
Speaking during the post match conference of the hard fought victory, Pep Guardiola said his players struggled in the first-half because they were playing for the consequences of the result. The Spanish coach said their first-half performance was below the standard for a potential Premier League champions; therefore, they risk losing the trophy.
‘They were playing for the consequences of the result (in the first-half). When you do that you are going to lose the Premier League,” said the 53-year-old.
“You cannot perform to your level. They are human beings, I understand the pressure. Not even Arsenal played well against Manchester United, they knew if they did not win there they would not win the Premier League.”
The result at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium means that the Sky Blues can win two additional trophies this season. They are just two matches away from winning both the Premier League and the Emirate FA Cup trophies in addition to the Super Cup and the Club World Cup won this campaign.