admin Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City lacked “flexibility” in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Wolves and singled out three players whose performances made life harder for the side.
City were beaten in the Premier League for the first time since May – losing 1-0 to Brentford on the final day as the title was sealed – and narrowly missed out on a club record seven wins in succession to start a top-flight season -flying season
Ruben Dias scored an own goal to give Wolves a first-half lead before Julian Alvarez equalized with a free-kick just before full-time. Hwang Hee-chan scored the winning goal in the 66th minute as Citizens took the lead. the rankings have dropped by one point.
Guardiola reveals the important tasks that were not done by midfielder Mateo Kovacic and defender Dias, and explains why Matheus Nunes was sent off at half-time against his former club .
The Man City coach said: “We didn’t get the process right to be a bit more flexible in attack and that’s why we struggled a bit in transitions.
“When the opponent defends equally well, Kovacic or Ruben have to attack the opponent’s centre-back – and we didn’t do that. That’s why it’s more difficult.
“But this is always going to be a difficult game and we know that, and they defend very well in every situation.
“The players knew exactly what they had to do and they did it. I don’t know how many times it’s been since I’ve been here.It always makes things more difficult.”
Guardiola was watching from the stands rather than from the touchline, having been suspended after being booked three times in the opening weeks of the season.
About Nunes retreated, adding: “I need more dynamism and I want more in small spaces and Oscar [Bobb] is really good at finding people with the creativity that he has.”
Man City’s defeat makes next weekend’s clash with rivals Arsenal even more interesting. The Gunners won 4-0 at Bournemouth on Saturday and are one point behind on points, level with Tottenham after Liverpool’s controversial defeat in north London.
