Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, was left frustrated by the supporters’ apparent lack of faith in his team following the booing from the crowd Thursday night as they battled back to win 4-2 against Tottenham Hotspur.
With the City side losing 2-0 at the break, a cacophony of boos rang out at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.
However, the current league champions rallied back to win and boost their chances of catching up with Arsenal who they face twice in the league this season.
Man City went into Thursday’s game against Spurs needing a win after their 2-1 Manchester derby defeat to United over the weekend at Old Trafford. They got off to a terrible start though as they found themselves 2-0 down at half-time.
Guardiola’s side made a slow start to the game and they were punished by Tottenham, who took control via goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal.
The Premier League holders were booed off by their home supporters at the break but they came to life following the restart.
Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland netted soon after the restart before a brace from Riyad Mahrez took the game away from Tottenham at the Etihad. The victory reduces the gap between City and Arsenal to five points.
They face Wolves next before Arsenal come up against Man Utd later in the day on Sunday.
READ ALSO: Manchester City Pips Chelsea, Closes Gap On Arsenal
Guardiola was far from happy from what he saw from his team and fans on Thursday evening.
“I cannot deny how happy we are. But we were far away from the team that we were,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.
“We concede four fouls and we don’t react. There was nothing from the stomach and the guts, the passion, fire, desire to win from minute one.”
On City’s fans, Guardiola said: “They booed because we were losing but not because we played badly.
“Maybe it’s the same as our team, maybe we are comfortable after four Premier Leagues in five years.
“How do I get the fire back? It’s my duty, my job. I want my fans back. I don’t recognise my team. I’m not going to tell you what I said.”
Jack Grealish’s in the post match reactions with teammate and Man of the Match, Riyad Mahrez, added that “it was silent for a while” in the dressing room at half-time.
“I thought we actually did all right in the first half, we had the better chances but like last week we conceded a goal,” Grealish told Sky Sports.
“Obviously it was not the best dressing room at half-time, it was silent for a while.
“I wasn’t thinking about the table, Just the game. Since I’ve been here I’ve lost both games against Spurs. Riyad was on fire and he helped us.”
Mahrez added: “I thought we played good in the first half so when we came back we were frustrated.
“I thought we actually did all right in the first half, we had the better chances but like last week we conceded a goal,” Grealish told Sky Sports.
“Obviously it was not the best dressing room at half-time, it was silent for a while.
“I wasn’t thinking about the table, Just the game. Since I’ve been here I’ve lost both games against Spurs. Riyad was on fire and he helped us.”
Mahrez added: “I thought we played good in the first half so when we came back we were frustrated.The manager spoke to us and we knew we could come back. We showed what we are.
“We scored two goals early and it put us in a great position. I think we deserved to win. It was a good night.”
Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, is facing a severe housing crisis, with house rents increasing by… Read More
Following a Monday meeting between the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC and operators of digital… Read More
In its quest to prioritize electricity supply to local customers, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission… Read More
Cancer is a disease that starts when cells in our body grow out of control.… Read More
Despite steady rise in cost of fuel over the years, Nigerians have continued to buy… Read More
You grew up with dwarfism and no doubt people look at you peculiarly and even… Read More
This website uses cookies.