Pep Guardiola Addresses Injuries, Team Performance, and Tactical Tempo Ahead of Champions League Match

Prior to Manchester City’s Champions League fixture against Juventus on Wednesday, scheduled for a 20:00 GMT kick-off, manager Pep Guardiola addressed reporters. The following outlines the main points from his press conference: Guardiola indicated that Phil Foden is not expected to return for the upcoming match, though Mateo Kovacic might play for a “few minutes”. He further stated, “Nice to have them back in team training sessions and to have them here with us.” The manager also mentioned uncertainty regarding the return timelines for Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji, noting that Ake’s absence is anticipated to be “longer than Manuel’s”. When asked about the current attitudes of his players, Guardiola responded, “Yeah, I love them. We can do better in terms of results. We have to find something inside of all of us to get results, but I am not the right person to say any wrong words about the team. We have to perform well and the next few weeks is very important.” Addressing whether an improvement in the team’s performance is imminent, he commented, “The team is good. We can’t rotate the team to give rest, that is a problem. The problem is especially because we had most important injuries in the same department, the same position in central defenders. So sometimes that is difficult, but the team are good.” Guardiola further stated, “In the end we punish ourselves in many games, we make mistakes and we have to avoid it. So, I don’t blame the situation, that is the situation. Life is like this. We have to do better with the players we have in terms of results.” The manager also remarked, “Our strength is the ball. Our strength in the success of the past eight or nine years is we run like desperate things when we don’t have the ball. With the ball we are incredibly patient. Let them run and run. Now, we are in a moment where we attack so quick and we do a lot of things where we are not in the right tempo.” He clarified that the current challenges are “not a mental thing,” attributing this to his players being “professionals.” Guardiola affirmed he is “trying to find a solution,” adding, “I have full confidence. If the results from now on in future will be even worse, the confidence of my team is undeniable. Confidence of my team is always there.”