PEP GUARDIOLA is worried about Manchester City’s mental fragility ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League re-match with Liverpool.
The City manager admits his devastated stars could be haunted by their capitulation in the Manchester derby as they bid to retrieve a 3-0 first leg deficit from the first leg at Anfield.
City’s Premier League title coronation party was wrecked when they threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to neighbours Manchester United, leaving Guardiola with a major task to pick up his players after conceding six goals in two stunning defeats in the space of four days.
“Yes, it makes it even more difficult,” he said after City’s first home League defeat for 16 months. “Not winning the derby makes it more difficult for our mood. If we go two goals up against Liverpool, what happened in the derby could prey on the players’ minds.
“When you play the way we did in the first half, when you have that momentum, you have to close the door on the opponents. And we didn’t close it against United.
“As well as we played in the first half, you have realise that sometimes it is not enough. At 2-0 the game is never over, especially here in this league.”
Guardiola is concerned at the rapid way City have collapsed in their last two games and forced him re-assess his philosophy.
City conceded three goals in 19 minutes at Anfield, while United’s scored their three goals in 16 minutes early in the second half on Saturday – Paul Pogba’s double separated by only 97 seconds. City also conceded that three in nine minutes on their League visit to Anfield in January.
It is an alarming trait in the big games that is worrying Guardiola and not confined to his City team. His Bayern Munich side conceded three in the last 13 minutes against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg in 2015 and three in 18 minutes in the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid in 2014.
He said: “I thought about that many times. I’ve dropped a lot of Champions League games in the space of 10 or 15 minutes. I remember my Munich team being 0-0 against Barcelona after 77 minutes – but we ended up losing 3-0. Maybe it’s my fault. I have to think about it.”
Defender Danilo has urged his City team-mates to try and put their derby game despair out of their minds.
“There’s a feeling of sadness and disappointment but we must turn the page as soon as possible because we have another big challenge on Tuesday,” he said. “I could tell you many reasons why we didn’t win but we win together and lose together.
“We have to focus on what we did wrong and we must improve, but we must not forget what we did all season.”
Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Kyle Walker will all return tomorrow after being rested from the starting line-up on Saturday.
Midfielder Fernandinho said: “Two defeats in a row is something we hadn’t experienced before. If we want to reach the level of the big English and European clubs we have to react as soon as possible because that is what the top teams do. After a shock they react fast.
“It is a shock for all of us, given that to concede six goals in two games is not the reality of our team. We have to think about everything because we have another decisive game now and, to go through, we can’t concede any goal.”
Source:www.express.co.uk