Guardiola Pledges Resilience After Manchester City’s Defeat

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking to TNT Sports, reflected on his team’s 4-1 loss, stating: “Cannot say much when you lose 4-1. Congratulations to Sporting Lisbon for the game.” Guardiola noted that his side had a “fantastic first half” but is now “struggling to score.” He observed that they “create and concede when the opponents don’t do much.” He further elaborated on the initial period, describing the first half as “really good” and confirming they “scored a goal,” but admitted that “every pass, the simple things we missed sometimes.” The manager acknowledged that such occurrences “can happen,” but emphasized the need to prevent further goals after the third and fourth. He highlighted a lack of emotional stability, asserting: “Emotionally we were not stable enough and in this competition you have to be stable. At 2-1, many things can happen. We have to be emotionally more stable.” Regarding the opposition, Guardiola credited Sporting Lisbon for a “very good action,” noting that “They made a good moment, they were fast and scored.” When asked if defensive changes were problematic, Guardiola responded: “Maybe. I don’t know. When you play lots of games you cannot play the same line up and same back four. We have had these problems from day one but it is what it is.” Despite the current “difficult moment in terms of results,” Guardiola affirmed his commitment to his role, declaring: “I want to be here. I want to fight and not give up, I like this challenge as a manager I have ahead of me. Who wants to follow us will be there.” He offered a broader perspective on football, suggesting that past successes might have been exceptional. “Sometimes you can lose,” he stated, adding that his team was “in the position where they punished us for the few they do and we struggled for the chances we had.” Guardiola concluded by reiterating the strong start, saying, “The first half was almost enough to finish the game and then we were losing 3-1.”