One Pep Guardiola quote after Manchester City’s draw with Brighton did stand out | OneFootball

Manchester City played out a 2-all draw with Brighton yesterday at the Etihad. Goals from Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush were cancelled out by a Pervis Estupiñan free kick and an own goal by Abdukodir Khusanov. During the game, there were moments when Manchester City were the dominant side, and on other occasions, they struggled to cope with the threat of Fabian Hurzeler’s side. Speaking after the game one Pep Guardiola quote did stand out. The City manager spoke about the difficulty his team has in carrying out their process, and it was striking to hear Guardiola acknowledge that.

In an interview broadcast on mancity.com Pep Guardiola had this to say about yesterday’s match. The Pep Guardiola quote that stood out is in the following statement: “It was a good, tight game. I know how difficult it is to make the process now. The players gave everything – we take the point and we keep going. I have confidence and always have. The young players played good. All the defenders were so clever. We were close, but unfortunately we couldn’t do it.”

Yesterday was the first time that we have heard Pep Guardiola acknowledge the fact that his squad cannot play in the manner he expects. To hear him say he knows how difficult it is for his team to make the process stand out. Every team in football needs to play in a manner that suits the sum of their parts. You do now wonder if Pep Guardiola has realised that this Manchester City squad just can’t play in the way he expects his team to. That has appeared obvious for some time this season. But to hear Guardiola recognise this fact did raise the eyebrows.

It’s too late for Manchester City to change how they play this season but perhaps this acknowledgement from Guardiola should have come months ago.

We cannot expect Manchester City and Pep Guardiola to change how they play so late in the season. That’s just not feasible. However, you do feel that this acknowledgement should have come months ago. But it arrived yesterday and what it means for the remainder of this season remains to be seen. We could see a slight tactical shift over Manchester City’s final games of the 24/25 season. That’s the most that we can expect.

It now remains to be seen what tactical shift Pep Guardiola will implement next season. But you do sense that he will after his comments yesterday. That will be interesting to see develop but you can’t help but think that the Pep Guardiola quote we heard after yesterday’s match could and should have come a lot earlier this season. It may not have changed how this season has transpired but what Pep Guardiola spoke of has been obvious to see for some time now.