Josep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, has urged his players to believe in their strengths in ball control and passing, even when they are pressed by their opponents, because if they go to duel with their opponents and rely on their physical strength, they will lose from day to night.
Guardiola is facing a tough schedule as, after losing 3-2 to Real Madrid in the Champions League play-off knockout round, he now has a trip to Newcastle (February 15) and then a trip to Spain to visit Los Blancos four days later.
With such a tight gap between games, Pep advised his team to play smart and not just measure their strength, but to focus on moving the เว็บพนันออนไลน์ UFABET สมัครง่าย โปรโมชั่นมากมาย ball and receiving and passing it accurately.
“We can change players from the bench, maybe rotate players and then take a breather with the ball,” the 54-year-old pointed out the team’s weaknesses.
“The problem in the second half against Real Madrid was that we couldn’t take a breather. There were five minutes when Madrid had the ball, created one shot after another, and then two seconds later they scored.”
“We lost possession, and Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. were running more and more aggressively,”
“In the past, we would pass the ball back and forth 25-30 times, but now we can’t do that.”
“To score goals you have to create plays first – and against Newcastle, do you think we can compete with their strength?”
“The defense needs to be more solid, be able to defend when in possession, know when to do what, and help each other.”
“If you want to challenge Bruno Guimaraes in midfield, Sandro Tonali, Joelinton, Sean Longstaff or whoever else is stronger, more agile, more nimble, then go for it.”
“But if you remember the year we won the league, our physicality wasn’t as strong. But what happened? We won the title when Liverpool were bigger, stronger.”
“Or like the season when we fought for the league title with Arsenal, we did it, so what’s the problem?”
“We used to have the confidence to play with the ball, but now we suffer if we have the ball.”