Man City earn Guardiola’s praise for avoiding Treble hangover،
Pep Guardiola said Manchester City’s 4-4 draw at Chelsea was proof his side had not gone “soft” after winning the treble last season, despite conceding three leads on three occasions at Stamford Bridge.
A 95th-minute penalty scored by Cole Palmer, who joined Chelsea in a £40 million move from City in September, sealed a point for Mauricio Pochettino’s side to extend their renaissance under the management of the former coach of Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain.
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But although City have failed to close out a game after repeatedly being in a winning position, City head into the international break one point ahead of Liverpool – their next opponents – at the top of the Premier League.
And Guardiola said his side had shown they had not lowered their standards since winning the treble.
“We are top of the league and qualified for the Champions League,” Guardiola said. “Where we come from [last season], when we can tend to be softer, it’s quite the opposite. This did not happen.
If you think you come here and win 7-0, you’re wrong. Everyone wants to beat us. You say there’s nothing for them to lose because if Chelsea lose to City, that’s normal, City are a fantastic team.
“But it’s not normal. Chelsea has always been a difficult place to get to, since I’ve been here in England. Chelsea is Chelsea, one of the best teams of the last 25 years, so to come here and not not lose.” It’s a good result, it’s a fair result.
“And Chelsea will be there, in the coming seasons they will be there. They have built for this.”
City midfielder Rodri, whose deflected goal put Guardiola’s side 4-3 ahead in the 86th minute, said the match left him and his teammates “exhausted”.
“We feel a bit exhausted,” Rodri told Sky Sports. “This type of game, we know how difficult it is to come here. The team that Chelsea have built, they have great players and they are signing massive players.
“The level of the Chelsea team has increased and it was not our best performance today. Individually we had to do a little more ourselves. Conceding four goals is not normal for us.
“We keep pushing and sometimes it’s like that and you have to score at the other end. But we have to correct some mistakes.
“I think we played the way they want. Quick transitions and they are a better team in this situation and they are faster and stronger. We have a different type of player and we try to play our game and I think that we had a hard time.”
