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Tag: Pep Guardiola

  • Champions League: Pep Guardiola, Liverpool charged for misconduct

    Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been charged with improper conduct and being sent off during Tuesday’s Champions League defeat by Liverpool.

    European governing body Uefa has also charged Liverpool after fireworks were set off and objects thrown inside Etihad Stadium.

    Guardiola was sent to the stands after confronting referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz on the pitch at half-time during the quarter-final second-leg 2-1 defeat.

    The case will be heard on 31 May.

    The improper conduct charge against Guardiola is for communicating with the bench during the second half.

    Article 69 of Uefa’s disciplinary regulations states that any manager or coach who is sent off may not communicate “directly or indirectly with the team’s players and/or technical staff during the match”.

    Guardiola went on to the pitch to challenge Lahoz after Leroy Sane had a goal disallowed for offside, despite replays showing Liverpool midfielder James Milner got the final touch through to the City winger.

    Liverpool were already facing four Uefa charges over the setting off of fireworks, throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances after City’s team bus was attacked at Anfield prior to the first-leg on 5 April. That case will also be heard on 31 May.

    Having won the first-leg 3-0, Jurgen Klopp’s side completed a 5-1 aggregate win to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 10 years.

    The Champions League semi-final draw is on Friday at 12:00 BST in Nyon, Switzerland.

    BBC

  • Man City need ‘perfect game’ to shock Liverpool – Guardiola

    Manchester City will have to play the “perfect game” on Tuesday to overturn a 3-0 deficit in their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool, says manager Pep Guardiola.

    City go into the second leg after back-to-back defeats by the Reds and derby rivals Manchester United in what Guardiola described as a “tough” week.

    The Spaniard said he still had belief in his “extraordinary” side.

    “The only way to play good football is to be positive,” he added.

    “To go through you have to make the perfect game, create chances and concede few chances. The chances we receive, we have to defend well.

    “We have 90 minutes and anything can happen. All we are going to do is try.

    “We have 90 minutes plus extra time and what we have shown this year – even in the last game – is we can create a lot of chances in the last few minutes.”

    Asked whether his side’s mental state had been impacted by two defeats in the past week, Guardiola said: “I don’t know.

    “But, if we are not able to cope with that psychologically, it will be a good lesson for the future.

    “It is a test. Football, like life, is a challenge.”

    BBC

  • Guardiola accepts defeat, says a special day for Man Utd in derby win

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was keen to move on from the defeat, especially with the crucial Champions League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool coming up on Tuesday.

    “We will try to pick ourselves up for Liverpool, we are professionals,” he said.

    “It is a special day for United, which is a pity. We did absolutely everything in the first half but then for 10-15 minutes we conceded goals. It is what it is.

    “But we move forward. We did everything in the first half, we played with courage and created so many chances. Some penalties in the first half, some in the second half, but we have to improve.”

    Manchester United win at Etihad stadium halted City Premier League title celebrations.

    A win for Manchester City would have been enough to secure the Premier League title on Saturday.

  • Manchester City were offered £100m Pogba in January – Guardiola

    Manchester City were offered £100m Pogba in January – Guardiola

    Manchester City were offered the chance to sign Manchester United’s Paul Pogba during the January transfer window, according to Man City manager Pep Guardiola.

    “I said no. We don’t have the money to buy Pogba because he is so expensive,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday as he attacked the conduct of agent Mino Raiola.

    Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side fixture against Manchester United on Saturday, would seal the Spaniard’s first Premier League title after a season of dominance over their rivals

    Guardiola, who stressed he thought Pogba an “incredible player”, also suggested Raiola offered him then United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan shortly before his move to Arsenal in part-exchange for Alexis Sanchez.

    Pogba has endured a troubled season at Old Trafford, and is by no means guaranteed to be in the starting line-up for the Manchester derby.

    He responded to Guardiola’s revelations by posting a picture of himself on his Twitter feed with a hand cupped to his ear during a United training session, captioned “Say what?”

    United manager Jose Mourinho indicated in late March that it was up to Pogba to explain why his form has been so inconsistent in recent months, declaring it was nothing to do with the France midfielder’s early-season injury problems.

    There is no suggestion that United had given their approval for Pogba, signed for a club-record fee of £89 million ($125 million, 102 million euros) from Juventus in 2016 to be offered to City.

    Guardiola’s anger was aimed solely at Raiola, with whom he has had a long-running feud dating back to the days when the Catalan coach was the manager of Barcelona.

    AFP

  • Jose Mourinho admits city rivals superiority, targets second

    Jose Mourinho said he will not hide from the obvious gulf between his side and city rivals Manchester City ahead of Saturday’s eagerly anticipated derby meeting at the Etihad.

    Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side would seal the Spaniard’s first Premier League title after a season of dominance over their rivals.

    It would open up a 19-point gap between the two Manchester clubs and leave City on course to set a new record for the largest ever title-winning margin, currently held by United’s 1999-2000 team, who won the league by 18 points.

    Mourinho was uncharacteristically taciturn ahead of the game, refusing to discuss a number of topics, although he did confess that he will not try and talk down City’s obvious superiority in the league table.

    “My motivation is to finish second,” he told reporters on Friday. “I still have the motivation of finishing top four, mathematically it is not done. It is a good distance but not done mathematically.

    “So that’s the first objective but after that I don’t hide. In practical terms and to continue into next season especially, to finish second, third or fourth is exactly the same — you don’t win the title but qualify for the Champions League group stage.

    “But I prefer to finish third to fourth and I prefer second to third. We have been second for many, many months, it is our objective to fight for that and for that we need points.”

    Mourinho was in a sour mood ahead of the derby and refused even to discuss what he might have learned from Liverpool’s hugely impressive 3-0 victory over the champions-in-waiting in the Champions League this week.

    “I’m not a pundit, I’m not going to comment on the game,” he said, also declining to comment on whether, or where, City deserve to be ranked among the all-time best Premier League teams.

    “It is not for me to say that, it is for you to say that,” he said. “You see the number of points we have and it is easy to go to the record books and see that with the number of points we have, we would normally be in the fight for the title.

    “But we are not because City have a very good number of points that makes it very, very difficult for the team that is second to fight for the title, which we are not in this moment.”

    Mourinho did offer an interesting exchange when it was pointed out that he had beaten City this season — in the competition to sign striker Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal — and he was asked if that suggested United were more attractive to players than City.

    “Are we?” replied Mourinho. “That’s your opinion. It’s your opinion…. I don’t know, I have no idea if they were interested (in Sanchez) or not. I’ve no idea.”

    AFP

  • UCL: Liverpool charged by UEFA for pre-match disturbance against City

    UCL: Liverpool charged by UEFA for pre-match disturbance against City

    Liverpool have been charged by the European football body, UEFA over the disturbances at their Champions League quarter-final encounter with Pep Guardiola side Manchester City on Wednesday.

    Disciplinary proceedings have been opened by European football’s governing body after a raft incidents, which overshadowed a stunning 3-0 first leg quarter-final win for Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield.

    The Reds have been charged with four separate breaches of Article 16 of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations relating to the behaviour of Liverpool supporters.

    Liverpool charged due to acts of damage, crowd disturbance, throwing of objects, and setting off of fireworks.

    The charges of setting off fireworks and throwing of objects relate to incidents from inside the ground and the charges of acts of damage and crowd disturbances relate to incidents involving the Manchester City FC team bus.

    Under Article 16, Liverpool are partly responsible for the order and security both inside and around the stadium before, during and after matches.

    They are liable for incidents of any kind and may be subject to disciplinary measures and directives unless they can prove that they have not in any way been negligent in the organisation of the match.

    They are also liable to ensure their supporters behave appropriately irrespective of any negligence in relation to the organisation of the match.

    The case will not be heard by UEFA’s disciplinary body until May 31 after the final, meaning any sanctions would apply only next season.

    Sky Sports

  • UCL: Liverpool vs Man City preview, squad news

    Liverpool welcome in-form Manchester City to Anfield as both sides contest for the first leg quarter finals of Uefa Champions League.

    Jurgen Klopp’s side are one of just four teams to beat Pep Guardiola’s impressive City this season , having won 4-3 in January and will be looking to repeat that feat to set one foot into the semi-final.

    Nevertheless, City put five past the Reds back in September, showing that they are more than capable and fit of putting their Premier League competitors to the sword.

    The two Premier league clubs are among the most prolific scorers in this season’s competition, amassing 47 goals between them, and their previous meeting suggests that there will be goals galore in the match.

    TEAM NEWS:

    Liverpool have confirmed that Joel Matip is set to undergo surgery on a thigh injury, which means he is out of the game, while full-back Joe Gomez is ruled out after sustaining an ankle injury during international duty with England.

    Adam Lallana is a doubt for the match after being forced off in the game against Crystal Palace, as is Emre Can.

    Potential Liverpool starting XI: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson; Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum; Salah, Mane, Firmino.

    On the other-side, City have indicated that John Stones will be assessed closer to kick-off, while Benjamin Mendy is nearing a return to full fitness but is not likely to be involved. While Guardiola had indiciated Sergio Aguero was in the mix, he did not travel with the squad to Liverpool.

    Fabian Delph is a concern and the midfielder turned full-back will undergo a late fitness test.

    Potential Man City starting XI: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Danilo; Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Sterling, D. Silva, Sane; Jesus.

    Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels said that every team wanted to avoid Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final and Man City were no different, as Txiki Begiristain’s immediate response to the draw revealed.

    The City director of football was none too pleased to see his side paired with the Merseyside outfit and with good reason: they are one of, if not the, most dangerous teams left in the competition.

    Klopp has promised that there will be ‘fire’ in the match, a sentiment that is easy to understand given both sides’ emphasis on attack and the intensity at which they play their football.

    “If I have the choice to watch a Champions League game, I would watch this one,” Klopp said. “It’s about tactics but there will be fire, that’s cool, it’s at Anfield, so a good atmosphere to watch.”

    Indeed, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino on one side and Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne on the other, neutrals in particular will be relishing the prospect.

    BBC

  • Man City one win from title after defeating Everton

    Man City one win from title after defeating Everton

    Manchester City will win the Premier League if they beat arch-rivals Manchester United in the derby at Etihad Stadium next Saturday after the easiest of victories at Everton.

    Manager Pep Guardiola had failed to record a victory against Everton in three matches before this visit to Goodison Park, but this result was never in doubt from the moment Leroy Sane volleyed home David Silva’s cross after four minutes.

    Everton barely mounted even token resistance and City had effectively restored their 16-point advantage at the top of the table by half-time after Gabriel Jesus headed in Kevin de Bruyne’s cross and Raheem Sterling applied a simple finish to another Silva delivery.

    Yannick Bolasie pulled a goal back for Everton after the break when he fired in via a post from 20 yards but this was a minor interruption to City’s serene progress and they now have the opportunity to reclaim the title in circumstances they will relish when Jose Mourinho brings his Manchester United side to Etihad Stadium.

    BBC

  • Man City doctor has spoken to players about snus – Guardiola

    Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says the club’s doctor has spoken to the players about stimulant snus.

    A Daily Mail investigation claims that the use of the tobacco pouches is prevalent among young footballers.

    Snus sales have been illegal in the UK since 1992 and it is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s watchlist, though it is not banned for enhancing performance.

    “I know about that only this morning when the doctor came into my office to talk about that,” said Guardiola.

    There is no suggestion that any City players are using snus and the Spanish manager added: “I don’t know the benefits, the pleasure of that.

    “The doctor spoke with the players.”

    Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has previously admitted to using the nicotine pouches.

    He wrote in his autobiography: “When I joined Leicester I started using snus, which are nicotine patches that you place against your gums for 10 minutes or so.

    “I used to have the odd fag on a night out at Fleetwood, but one of the lads introduced me to snus when I signed for Leicester and I found they helped me chill out.

    “A lot more footballers use them than people realise, and some lads even play with them during matches.”

    BBC

  • More English players should go abroad – Pep Guardiola

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes the England national team would benefit from more players going abroad during their careers.

    England have not had a non-UK based player in a squad for a major tournament since David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves at the 2006 World Cup.

    Guardiola cited Spain’s international success with Premier League players.

    “When they came back into the national team, they were stronger. They were better,” Guardiola said.

    “They did very good things that helped Spanish football. Could that benefit the England team? I think that’s true.

    “I think it’s a good experience to move to another country and see different realities to your own.”

    There are a smattering of young English players in Europe’s top five leagues including former City winger Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund.

    Everton winger Ademola Lookman is on loan at RB Leipzig while West Ham defender Reece Oxford is on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach.

    Guardiola believes the wages on offer in the Premier League play a major role in discouraging players from having a spell overseas.

    The 47-year-old also thinks the Premier League 2 competition, for Under-23 players, needs to be stronger.

    “I think the Premier League is a wealthy league and maybe the English players prefer to stay,” Guardiola added.

    “For me, the most important thing is to make the second-team league stronger. Without that, it will be tough for the English national teams. That is my personal view.”

     

    BBC