Guardiola: Defeat At Chelsea Was Tactical
By Nigel Phillips
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted to losing against Chelsea on tactical grounds as he admits Maurizio Sarri surprised him with his approach.
Manchester City’s Premier League unbeaten run crashed at Stamford Bridge on Saturday with a 2-0 defeat to Sarri’s Blues, despite the visitors dominating 61 per cent of possession.
Sarri maintained his usual 4-3-3 formation, but appeared defensive than the customary high-pressing play, and Pep Guardiola admitted he was taken unawares by his opposite number’s approach.
"I knew that they would stay high,” Guardiola said at the post-match press conference. “In the end, they waited a little bit lower and I didn't expect that.”
The defending champions went into the game without key players Sergio Aguero, Benjamin Mendy, Kevin De Bruyne, and opted to play Raheem Sterling up front ahead of Gabriel Jesus.
Asked if his absentees contributed to the defeat, Guardiola answered in the negative, but admitted that De Bruyne was missed.
"When we won, nobody asked me about the people that are not here. Of course, I would prefer to be with Aguero, Kevin, Mendy, and everybody, but the guys made an incredible performance today. If someone can assure me that if we had them, we would have won, nobody knows."
"Now my feeling, knowing the opponent, the performance was outstanding. I have the feeling that last season when we won, this season we played better. But last season Kevin had the ball and got the goal. Game over. Today we missed it a little bit."
The result left Manchester City a point below leaders Liverpool, but Guardiola insisted the title chase was still open.
"We are in December. If you tell me Liverpool can win the Premier League, I will say 'yes.' If you tell me Tottenham, Arsenal or Chelsea can, I will say 'yes,'" he added.
"Everybody can win the Premier League, but the people judge what happened last season when we were the best. We did it so far, but of course when we lose I wouldn't like to be misunderstood. An argument when you are defeated looks like an excuse. I'm sitting here trying to tell you what I saw and what I saw was quite good."
