“I couldn’t care less” – Pep Guardiola shuts down Manchester City doubters ahead of AS Monaco test | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has distanced himself from criticism in a passionate defence of his squad ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash with AS Monaco on Wednesday night.

City face a tricky test away at Stade Louis II as club captain Bernardo Silva prepares to captain the Blues against his former club, whom he left in 2017 to join Manchester City for £43 million, two weeks on from their 2-0 victory over Napoli.

Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku were on the scoresheet for Manchester City on the opening night of the UEFA Champions League group-phase, when Kevin De Bruyne made an emotional return to the Etihad Stadium less than three months on from leaving the club.

After a slow start to the season underpinned by back-to-back defeats to Tottenham and Brighton in their opening trio of Premier League games, Manchester City have turned a corner with an encouraging run of results to steady the ship as they navigate a period of transition at the club following a busy transfer window.

City have not lost since the September international break and have picked up important wins over Manchester United, Napoli, Huddersfield Town and Burnley in the last few weeks to set up a foundation to build on as the 2025-26 season progresses.

Kyle Walker was the latest former Manchester City star to return to the Etihad Stadium as the 35-year-old Englishman and Burnley suffered a 5-1 defeat against the Blues, with Haaland scoring twice and taking his tally to nine goals for the season.

Manchester City are in a rich vein of form heading to their UEFA Champions League group-stage fixture against AS Monaco and Guardiola has sent another reminder to City’s perennial critics that he is blocking out all noise and criticism focussing on his side.

“I couldn’t care less what people say about what they think (about this Manchester City team),” Guardiola said in his pre-Monaco press conference on Tuesday evening.

The Manchester City manager has doubled down that his squad need to keep their head down and build on their recent run of form, holding a belief that there is some way to go before the new-look side can compare to the hugely successful City sides of the recent past.

Guardiola added: “It doesn’t count for anything. It’s about what you do on the field. We will be favourites if we play good, every game if we play better. That is the step we have to do, and we have the feeling there is margin to improve.”

City have been handed a welcome fitness boost for AS Monaco as Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri has been deemed fit to start after missing the weekend rout of Burnley amid concerns over the knee on which the 29-year-old underwent surgery last season.

Summer signing Rayan Cherki is back in first-team training but will not be involved against AS Monaco, with Guardiola adamant on slowly phasing the 22-year-old Frenchman back to action to avoid recurring issues with the attacking midfielder’s thigh.