Effort was there says Guardiola

Published on: 22 September 2018

Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City side simply have to keep putting in the effort to atone for a 2-1 home Champions League defeat at the hands of Lyon.

The Spanish head coach was forced to watch from the stands on Wednesday as City opened their European campaign in faltering style, but Guardiola was not overly concerned by a performance which he felt did not want for effort and commitment.

It wasn't the best performance, but we didn't play badly.

Pep Guardiola

Ahead of a tricky Premier League trip to Cardiff City on Saturday, Guardiola told reporters: "The players don't have to apologise, why should they apologise? For what? They ran, they fought, they tried to make a comeback, but this competition punishes the mistakes you make.

"We made a lot of mistakes and when we did that they punished us, but they don't have to apologise, they put everything out there.

"We didn't play badly. It wasn't the best performance but we didn't play badly. In the first half it was a little bit slow, in the second half we were better."

City are now priced at 5/1 to win the Champions League this season, with Liverpool available at 8/1 and Barcelona 6/1.

Meanwhile, Guardiola also confirmed that left-back Benjamin Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines due to an injury to his left foot, while he still has not timeframe for when playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (knee) will return to the fold.

The Spaniard added: "Mendy is injured. He has a problem with the bone in his foot.

"I spoke with the doctors (about Kevin) and he is telling me it's going good and well, but I don't know (when he will return), we will see. The important thing is when he comes back he is fit and can play the rest of the season."

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Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City side simply have to keep putting in the effort to atone for a 2-1 home Champions League defeat at the hands of Lyon.

The Spanish head coach was forced to watch from the stands on Wednesday as City opened their European campaign in faltering style, but Guardiola was not overly concerned by a performance which he felt did not want for effort and commitment.

It wasn't the best performance, but we didn't play badly.

Pep Guardiola

Ahead of a tricky Premier League trip to Cardiff City on Saturday, Guardiola told reporters: "The players don't have to apologise, why should they apologise? For what? They ran, they fought, they tried to make a comeback, but this competition punishes the mistakes you make.

"We made a lot of mistakes and when we did that they punished us, but they don't have to apologise, they put everything out there.

"We didn't play badly. It wasn't the best performance but we didn't play badly. In the first half it was a little bit slow, in the second half we were better."

City are now priced at 5/1 to win the Champions League this season, with Liverpool available at 8/1 and Barcelona 6/1.

Meanwhile, Guardiola also confirmed that left-back Benjamin Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines due to an injury to his left foot, while he still has not timeframe for when playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (knee) will return to the fold.

The Spaniard added: "Mendy is injured. He has a problem with the bone in his foot.

"I spoke with the doctors (about Kevin) and he is telling me it's going good and well, but I don't know (when he will return), we will see. The important thing is when he comes back he is fit and can play the rest of the season."

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Source: bet365.com

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