Guardiola Rejects Claims of ‘Old Man City’ Return: ‘Absolutely Not

Pep Guardiola firmly dismisses suggestions that Manchester City is reverting to its old ways, emphasizing the team’s growth and adaptability in recent seasons.

It’s the first time since October that they’ve achieved consecutive victories. They’ve also scored four goals in a Premier League match for the first time since August, and Erling Haaland has recorded his first league double since September.

Saturday’s decisive 4-1 victory over West Ham has sparked speculation about the return of Manchester City’s former dominance. However, manager Pep Guardiola insists this is “absolutely not” the case.

With this victory, the defending champions move to sixth place in the Premier League, just three points behind third-placed Nottingham Forest. This comes as a welcomed relief following an otherwise challenging couple of months.

However, when questioned if the result indicated that his team was returning to their usual form after winning only twice in 10 games, the Spaniard responded without hesitation.

“No,” said Guardiola. “You assess based on the results. Our performance wasn’t up to par. We’ve seen our level over many years, and currently, we’re not meeting it.”

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m really happy, and I’ll sleep better until the FA Cup match against Salford on January 11th.

However, when he asked if the old Manchester City and their style of play had returned, the answer was no. It’s important to recognize that we’ve watched these games for years; we’re still not at that level yet. Come on.

There are certainly a lot of positives. However, if you ask me whether the team is playing as it did years ago, my answer would be no, absolutely not.

Guardiola is an exceptionally demanding leader.

He holds high standards and has propelled City forward during the lengthy winning streaks that have characterized his remarkably successful eight-and-a-half seasons at the club.

Despite the extensive soul-searching over the past few weeks, it felt as though a comfortable win was worth celebrating—even if West Ham had some decent chances.

Although Guardiola dismissed that theory, he provided more detailed comments about Brazilian winger Savinho.

The 20-year-old, who transferred for £30 million from another City Football Group club, Troyes, last summer has faced an inconsistent debut season.

Nonetheless, West Ham struggled to handle his direct approach. It was Savinho’s cross that Coufal inadvertently deflected into his own net, and another one that Haaland headed in for the second goal.

Savinho delivered the through ball that Haaland converted for City’s third goal, earning high praise from Guardiola.

He said, “Positioning the left foot on the left side, reminiscent of old-fashioned vintage football—right in the right and left in the left—and executing these kinds of crosses benefits our striker.”

He has much to improve, particularly in becoming more aggressive without the ball and strengthening several aspects of his game. However, he possesses a special brilliance that greatly benefits the team.

BBC