Pep claims Man City were only ‘good’ in seven-goal win; has sympathy for Leeds
Pep Guardiola opted to downplay his Manchester City side’s incredible performance in their 7-0 crushing of Leeds in the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
An imperious Kevin De Bruyne struck twice as City sent Guardiola’s Premier League goal tally hurtling past 500 with a stunning demolition of Marcelo Bielsa’s men.
Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, John Stones and Nathan Ake also got on the scoresheet as the champions swatted aside the West Yorkshire outfit with embarrassing ease at the Etihad Stadium.
In the process they registered their 500th Premier League goal under Guardiola in just the Spaniard’s 207th game. It was a new record for the competition, eclipsing the previous fastest mark of 234 games by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
More importantly for Guardiola, it was a seventh successive victory that extended City’s lead at the top of the table to four points, applying pressure to rivals Liverpool and Chelsea ahead of their games on Thursday.
City were as ruthless as the scoreline suggests, completely overpowering Leeds in all departments.
“Our goals conceded is amazing.”
“But this club buys players to be creative players.”
“Today was a good run to be close to Liverpool and Chelsea.”
Pep Guardiola shares his happiness with the attacking ??? defensive elements of his Man City side
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— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 14, 2021
And speaking to BT Sport after the game, Guardiola said: “Congratulations to the team, it was a good performance for us.
“We did a good performance, the vibes of the stadium was nice today – it was sold out and the supporters were incredible.
“The team started in a good rhythm and our central defenders made good build-up. We were patient with the ball and the quality of the players did the rest.
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“We lost five points last season when we played Leeds.
“We tried to prepare well for the game. The players, maybe they felt, that it is a more serious team that people think. I know exactly which manager conducts this team.
“The pride they have every since game, with every single ball. We saw the game against Chelsea, they deserved to take at least one point. The way they fought, maybe they were a little tired as they played just two days ago.
“That is why I give credit for the victory because I am pretty sure that every opponent knows what it is to play Leeds. Now we rest and prepare for Newcastle on Sunday.
“When you get these results it’s because individually they [the players] are brilliant.”
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