A period of rest has come at the right time for Manchester City after their performance against Salford City | OneFootball

Manchester City did what they had to do to beat Salford City 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium yesterday. Pep Guardiola’s side had to fight their way into the fifth-round of the FA Cup. Karl Robinson’s determined Salford side made City work for their victory and also had their moments throughout the game. If not for two vital James Trafford saves, City would have had a bigger fight on their hands against the League Two outfit. Coming out of yesterday’s match, you could not help but feel that this City side will benefit from a period of rest. Pep Guardiola’s side will have that this week, and it has come at precisely the right time.

Manchester City were below their best against Salford City yesterday.

After Rayan Ait-Nouri set up Manchester City’s opening goal, which came via an own goal from Salford City defender Alfie Dorrington in the sixth minute of yesterday’s match, it seemed that the scene was set for Pep Guardiola’s side to run riot at the Etihad. City looked eager to put the visitors to the sword based on their performance in the opening 10 minutes yesterday. But that wasn’t how the game transpired. Salford City dug in defensively and were determined not to be beaten 8-nil like they were by City last season.

Karl Robinson’s side dug in and had their moments in yesterday’s match. If not for two big saves from James Trafford in each half, City could have been staring down the barrel of a famous cup upset. Marc Guehi scored in the 81st minute to seal Manchester City’s win yesterday. All told, City’s performance was lethargic and flat.

It did seem yesterday that a busy schedule had caught up to Pep Guardiola’s side. There was a lack of intent and energy in Manchester City’s possession play. Players such as Phil Foden, Omar Marmoush, and Tijjani Reijnders were well below their best. They were not alone in that boat. Nearly every City player on the pitch seemed off besides James Trafford. City now have a week before their next Premier League fixture against Newcastle United. Based on Manchester City’s flat performance yesterday, a week between games has come at exactly the right time for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Pep Guardiola acknowledged that his team didn’t perform well yesterday.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was far from happy with his team’s performance against Salford City yesterday. He said the biggest positive to come from the match was that his team won. Besides that, Guardiola said that his team didn’t play with the right tempo to expose the gulf in quality between his team and Karl Robinson’s side. Speaking on Manchester City’s performance yesterday, Pep Guardiola told the media: “We didn’t read the spaces where they were. Always the spaces we attack depends on where the defend and we didn’t read it.”

“We have to spend a lot of time to make the process quicker and better. The only good news is we go through. Would be nice to say that mentally we’re exhausted but this is our job and we have to do what we have to do. We didn’t read the spaces, that’s why everything was flat and slow and it was not good.”

Pep Guardiola added that his team has faced a busy schedule since November, he added: “It has been tough but not just this two weeks, since November it’s been every three days and that’s a lot.”

Manchester City simply did what they had to do yesterday to beat Salford City at the Etihad, nothing more. It was far from a vintage display from Pep Guardiola’s side. At the final whistle you did sense that the upcoming period of rest for City has come at exactly the right time. A week between games is rare for Manchester City and hopefully it does this City squad the world of good considering what lies ahead of them for the remainder of this season.