Team Technical Director ManchesterJ sound signal Guardiola Explaining his decisions in the match with Leipzig, in the Champions League.
The match between Manchester City and Leipzig ended in a positive draw with a goal from each team in the first leg of the 16th round of the Europa League.
Guardiola explains his decisions in the Champions League match against Leipzig
And when, after the meeting, Guardiola was asked about the request of his team to award a penalty in stoppage time, he replied: “I did not see it. I haven’t seen her so I can’t speak, but I know what happens in those situations.”
“I didn’t see the footage, I saw my players’ claims, and the game was verified,” he confirmed.
And he stressed: “We did not talk about the referee’s decision after the match. We are aware of what happened in the past, what is happening in the present and what will happen in the future.” The referee decided there was no penalty, so it’s over.”
He explained: “We were talking between the two halves and I asked the players to forget about the result of the first half and that the second half would be different.”
Guardiola admitted: “In the second half we were not as tough as in the first. And that’s okay. Their return as a result is natural, I worked here in Germany for 3 years, and the biggest characteristic of this country is not to give up while there is time to try to return, and they have already equalized.
He continued: “Overall I am satisfied, our team is not very good at handling quick changes. They are better than us in this regard, they are faster, except for Kyle (Walker) and Erling (Haaland). The rest of our team has no speed.”
He continued: “Two or three times we came close to scoring a goal from a free kick. There’s a match left in Manchester and whoever wins will qualify.”
He confessed: “I didn’t have high expectations, I didn’t think of coming here to win 4-0, it didn’t occur to me. It’s back and forth, 180 minutes. I wanted us to come back to Manchester United with options open.
Guardiola did not make any substitutions during the match and sarcastically replied: “I have the opportunity to make 5 substitutions, and as a manager I can use them if I want.”
He emphasized: “Having the opportunity to change does not mean that I have to make changes. As a coach, I have to decide what I want to do.”
And he added: “I was very pleased with what my team offered. After the goal I conceded, I thought about paying Foden, but we controlled the match.”
He explained: “Their team attacked with six players, two full-backs pushed forward as if they were wingers, and they had 4 players who were amazingly good at the start. These centers need control, so I bet on Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, we needed a lot of passes.
And he concluded: “It was my decision to leave, maybe in the second leg I will decide to go crazy and play with nine strikers. But in this match, I felt, based on my experience in Germany, that I needed to control the game.