Guardiola likens the Man City - Arsenal match to the English Premier League final
"We have to win, win and win," said Guardiola after defeating Leicester 3-1 in round 31 of the Premier League on April 15. "Arsenal have been excellent this season. I don't think they will drop many points and what we have to do is maintain the chase. It is important that Man City win today to enter the final against Arsenal in the next game. in the English Premier League".
At the Etihad Stadium yesterday, Man City dominated in the first half and scored three goals in a row thanks to John Stones and a brace from Erling Haaland. Leicester's efforts in the second half only helped them remove a goal thanks to a close-range kick from Kelechi Iheanacho - an adult from the Man City training camp.
The sixth consecutive victory in the Premier League helps Man City close the gap with the first place to three points and put pressure on Arsenal - the club as a guest of West Ham today. If they win, the "Gunners" will re-establish the three-point gap but kick more than one game.
The following weekend, Man City kicked off the FA Cup semi-final with Sheffield United at Wembley, and Arsenal took on Southampton in round 32. Therefore, Arsenal had the opportunity to drop nine points from Man City before the big battle at the Etihad on April 26. Guardiola stressed that he had not thought about the match against Arsenal because he wanted to focus on the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern as well as the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Yesterday, with a three-goal lead after half-time, Guardiola replaced a series of pillars in the second half, with John Stones, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish respectively leaving the field. This caused Man City to lose its rhythm and experience the turbulent last minutes. In the 85th minute, James Maddison stole the ball and dived to the face but could not beat Ederson. Six minutes later, Maddison crossed for Iheanacho to rush down to face the Brazilian goalkeeper but hit the post again.
Guardiola admits there is a risky decision, but must be taken towards the rematch of Bayern in Germany on April 19. "I have thought for days about rotation, but I have experienced it from previous seasons," said the Spain coach. "When you rotate too much, the club won't be able to maintain the form. If Maddison scores, I don't know what will happen because football is unpredictable. The important thing is that Man City have won three points and have to continue. customary".
Twice to net Leicester, Haaland equaled Mohamed Salah's record of 32 goals in a 38-round Premier League season. If you include the 42-round tournament, he is still two goals away from the record of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Guardiola believes his students will break these records when Man City has eight games left in the Premier League this season. "I want Haaland to break every record possible. That means Haaland will score a lot of goals and help Man City a lot," he said.
