Saturday 14/March/2026 – 12:55 AM
Pip defended Guardiolathe coach of Manchester City, about his technical options and the formation of the team with which he played against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, which ended with City losing 3-0. The Spaniard explained, during the press conference for the West Ham United match, that his decisions were based on logical reasons.
Pep explained that criticism always follows the coach based only on the final result, saying: “If you win, you are a genius, but after ten years I will not convince anyone of the correctness of my decisions because we lost, and that is all that matters.” He gave an example of his previous decision in the European Champions League final against Chelsea when he played without a clear focal point player, stressing that he always takes what he sees as best for the team at the time.
Guardiola’s analysis of the events of the Real Madrid match
The Manchester City coach believes that his team performed exceptionally in the first 20 minutes of the Madrid match before receiving the first goal, and pointed out that emotions took over the players after the goal, which led to them committing mistakes that completely changed the course of the match. He also criticized the awarding of a penalty kick against them in the second half, stressing that it was not correct from his personal point of view.
Pep stressed the importance of the rotation policy among players, explaining that it is impossible to field the same starting lineup every three days in light of the competition in all tournaments, and that success in local matches such as the victory over Newcastle proves the feasibility of this approach.
Guardiola: The English Premier League is no longer the best in the world
In an interesting statement, Guardiola commented on the recent decline in the results of English clubs in Europe, as Aston Villa only achieved one win out of 9 English clubs that participated in the continental championships this week. Pep said: “I used to say that we are the best league in the world, but after what happened in the middle of the week, we are no longer like that.”
He added that competition has become fierce in all European leagues, citing the Norwegian team Bodo Glimt, which he described as a high-class team, stressing that good preparation in other tournaments made it difficult for Premier League clubs to maintain their previous dominance.
Manchester City and West Ham match date
Manchester City is preparing to face West Ham United today, Saturday, in the thirtieth round of the English Premier League, where the match will be held at ten o’clock in the evening, Egypt time.
