Guardiola summed up Newcastle pentalogy – and upcoming Arsenal series – with Mourinho quote | OneFootball

“When you play as many times against each other, it becomes like the basketball play-offs. You do one thing; they respond with another, you answer in another way,” was how Pep Guardiola described his quadrilogy of matches with Jose Mourinho in the 2010/11 season run-in.

“The guessing, the changing, the preparing, the switches during games…this is what makes everything enjoyable, which gives meaning to everything. It is the thing that made those encounters fascinating,” he added.

Barcelona and Real Madrid met four times across three competitions in the space of six games and 17 days. Guardiola won one decisive European semi-final leg. Mourinho claimed a scalp of his own and, with it, the Copa del Rey. And a pair of draws meant those personal “play-offs” ended roughly equally, even if there was a Catalonian league and Champions League double by the campaign’s end.

There has rarely been anything approaching those levels of parity between Guardiola and Eddie Howe. Their five clashes this season have seen Manchester City emerge victorious four times, advancing in both domestic cups but with Newcastle landing a potentially fatal Premier League title blow in November.

And their non-Clasico version of “you do one thing; they respond with another, you answer in another way” essentially amounts to Omar Marmoush and Harvey Barnes sharing the goals between them.

Guardiola called facing Newcastle “a nightmare” on the eve of this tie – and not as his trademark back-handed compliment or hair-ruffling condescension.

“Physicality, pace, the way they play is so difficult. An incredible, complete team,” he branded them. And the Magpies often show those flashes against a side whose dominance has become their blueprint.

St James’ Park erupted when Sandro Tonali played Barnes in to finish astutely past James Trafford and inspire hope of Newcastle edging into the quarter finals at the expense of a much-changed side.

Manchester City made more alterations to their starting line-up away at Premier League opposition than Arsenal did for their visit to a League One club. And Mansfield Town ultimately made a better fist of things earlier in the day as Manchester City’s reserves soon raised the level.

Nico Gonzalez, in his first appearance since the previous round’s unconvincing stagger past Salford, cleared off the line from Nick Woltemade.

John Stones, in his first 90 minutes since November, impressed and channelled Kevin de Bruyne with one particularly absurd pass.

Jeremy Doku, on his first start since the Manchester derby defeat in mid-January, forced the equaliser with a driven cross for Savinho, on his first start since New Year’s Day, to convert basically accidentally by standing completely still and letting the ball hit him.

Marmoush, who already sits behind January recruit Antoine Semenyo for Manchester City minutes this season, provided two emphatic finishes to put last season’s beaten finalists into the next round.

And so the dream of another Guardiola pentalogy this campaign is formed from unequivocal victory in this one, with a Quadruple still on the line.

Manchester City could entirely conceivably still face Arsenal twice in the Premier League, then in the finals of the Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup with unprecedented glory on the line.

Those games would be closer to “basketball play-offs” with slightly more “guessing”, “changing”, “preparing” and “switches” than Guardiola has ever needed to overcome Newcastle.