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DeutschPep Guardiola responds to damaging Man City draw: ‘I never point fingers’
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he would not “point fingers” at any of his players despite his side twice failing to hold onto the lead in the eventual 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
City faced Vitor Pereira’s relegation-threatened side at the Etihad on Wednesday night and went ahead through an Antoine Semenyo goal in the first half, though a clever finish from Morgan Gibbs-White drew the visitors level before another equaliser came later on courtesy of rumoured City target Elliot Anderson.
It’s a result that takes the title out of City’s hands, leaving them seven points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, though the Guardiola’s team do have a game in hand to come against Crystal Palace.
And after the final whistle, Guardiola explained that he would “like to concede fewer” goals but insisted that he would “never point fingers at my players”.
"It is a lot but there are games that maybe we didn't deserve it but today we played, in general, good for 90 minutes," said Guardiola.
"You have to stop transitions, long balls you have to defend but it's not about this action or that action, in general the game was well played.
"We created a lot against a team so defensive, a really good team, [which is] more dynamic."
"I would like to concede fewer but it's not about analysing one specific action," explained the Spaniard.
"We did everything. We had the chances at the end and in the first half and the momentum. But something always happens and we could not win,” he added.
The result hands Arsenal the advantage in the title race, with the Gunners seven points in front ahead of City’s re-arranged game against Palace.
However, Guardiola’s side still have opportunities to land psychological blows on the Gunners, with both sides contesting the Carabao Cup later this month and Arsenal travelling to the Etihad in the league on 19 April.
City are next in league action against West Ham on 14 March, while they face Newcastle in the FA Cup this weekend before travelling to Spain to face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday 11 March.
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Pep Guardiola responds to damaging Man City draw: ‘I never point fingers’
City laboured to a 2-2 home draw with relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest to leave Arsenal seven points ahead at the top of the Premier League
Deco has preferred option for Barcelona centre-back hunt
Barcelona have two priorities for the summer transfer window, and one of them is a central defender. Despite Director of Football Deco declaring that they had one too many at the position last summer, it seems they will look to make an addition at the position this summer to cover the loss of Inigo Martinez.
It seems Andreas Christensen will be offered a new deal to extend his contract for next season, despite having played just 23 matches in the last two seasons. Meanwhile Ronald Araujo has started just once since November following his mental health break, and Gerard Martin has been required to cover in central defence, leaving a very different picture to the one Barcelona started the season with.
Nathan Ake is preferred option for Deco
In the January transfer window, Barcelona were also linked with a move for a central defender, which was believed to be the priority before the arrival of Joao Cancelo. One the names that featured prominently in those links is Manchester City defender Nathan Ake. The Dutch international was in search of more game time, but after an injury crisis for Pep Guardiola, has started to feature more often. Catalunya Radio say that Deco is most keen on signing Ake in the summer though, as things stand.
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Motives behind Ake interest
With a centre-forward the other priority on the agenda, that is expected to absorb most of Barcelona’s resources in terms of what they can spend this summer. As such, preferred options such as Josko Gvardiol and Alessandro Bastoni are financially out of reach. Ake has one year remaining on his deal this summer, and could be available for a cheaper deal as a result.
The 31-year-old is experienced at the top level, and can also play at left-back, factors that make him Deco’s preferred option.
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