Guardiola relieved after 1-0 win over relegation threatened Southampton

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Guardiola relieved after 1-0 win over relegation threatened Southampton react Manchester City 1-0 Southampton  Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK.  26/10/2024

Transcript

00:00Evening, guys. Hope you're well. Same process as ever. Mic's on either side, I think. If

00:19you can raise your hand so that there's no-one else to ask a question. We'll set an embargo

00:22towards the end for 10.30 on Sunday evening. Phil, you look keen.

00:26Noticed you said to Sky Sports, a great game to learn from as a manager, and that you praised

00:36Russell Martin and what you can learn from him. Is that genuine? No, just from a layman's

00:43way, with all you've done in the game, and Russell obviously still being a lot younger

00:48and newer to management, you're still learning from him after games like that?

00:53I'm a big believer for the process to the build-up. I prefer my players get the ball

01:04to the feet, not to the teeth. And when this happens, it's because they make incredible

01:10processes. We were not sloppy, we were not sly, and we struggled to regain the ball,

01:14but they were really, really good. First of all, I'm a spectator. I want to see the opponent

01:19doing the things that I like to do with my team, and they do it really well, and they

01:23struggle. So I just make a compliment, and I'm pretty sure I will learn. Some movements

01:30they have done, the reason why they do it, it's not difficult, because they make movements

01:36to create a space to link to the striker, and they put overplayers on the outside to

01:41bring you there, and it's not easy. But saying that, we create enough chances to win better,

01:49but I like to win in that way. That proves the last two games against Wolves and Southampton

01:54that right now, just right now, I'm in the bottom of the league, and look how difficult

01:58it was. So I think when people say, no, in the Premier League, every team can beat everyone,

02:04yeah, that is the truth. So every game is a battle, it's so difficult, and the same.

02:10I'm not any regret, any complaint about my team, because when the opponent is good, you

02:17have to accept it, and this is what happened.

02:22How difficult is it, as a young manager, you started obviously, you had to be brave, you

02:28were different with your tactics. How difficult is it to stick with that, even if some people

02:35outside doubt it, and maybe sometimes results don't quite go?

02:39Yeah, because the people doubt because they don't get results, not because they don't

02:47believe what they are doing. So the people judge results, not judge intentions, but judge

02:53what they want to do. But the same guys, the same guy three months ago was in crowd compliment

02:58because he was promoted for the Championship to the Premier League, and he's the same guy,

03:01and the same principles. And of course, he's young, I'm pretty sure he'll improve what

03:06he sees, and the development will happen, but what I expected, I like to see what they

03:13do, and I don't know what's going to happen. So I'm not concerned, but I am saying that

03:19what they do, I appreciate it and I like it.

03:23Hi Pep, Zlatan had more of the ball in the first half, can you remember a team that wanted

03:28the ball against you as much as them here at the Etihad, and do you think that their

03:32performance will convince other teams that this is actually the best way of playing against

03:36you?

03:37But there is work behind it. It's not about, oh guys have the ball and pass the ball. There

03:44is work behind that. And the movement is in the right moment, the right tempo, and why

03:48you move in this space and the other one, why you do this, why you do that. First of

03:52all, you have to believe it. And what I had the feeling, that is one point, you come to

03:56Etihad Stadium and play in that way, you are a big believer. Incredible big believer about

04:03what you are doing. And this is, I said yesterday in the press conference, for me the managers,

04:09the good ones, is when they have an idea and they fight for that. Because the results can

04:15make people confused. And when you don't have results, you want to change, and when you

04:19change, not even guaranteed it's going to get better. And I'm pretty sure they believe

04:24in that, they want to do it, and that's why. If it was more possession, because they were

04:30good. We weren't, Erling didn't run, or Mateus, or Savio, or Phil, or Bernie, or Koba. We

04:37run incredible today. We don't like that. But it's not because we were bad, it's because

04:42they were good. And when this happens, it's just to accept it, and learn. When I say learn,

04:47because when I watch the game, oh in that moment, look, what will happen this and that,

04:50what do you do this and do that, and maybe in the future we can use it. Because as a

04:55manager in my career, 40, 50 years, I learn a lot from my opponents and managers, a lot.

05:00What they do and all, that is a good idea. When you apply it, with the players that we

05:05have, with the time we have, then this is going to happen.

05:09You've got 23 points, you're unbeaten this season, Liverpool play Arsenal tomorrow, you're

05:15two ahead of Liverpool, does it matter that you're at the top at the moment, do you care

05:20about that, and will you watch the game tomorrow?

05:22I will watch it, I prefer to be at the top than not be at the top, but it's not a point.

05:27It's just what happened today. Stonbilla dropped points, Brighton dropped points, because

05:32it's so difficult. We won in Walsh in 94-95. Today you get a chance, so we could score

05:40two, three or four, the expected goals are much, much higher. But I have to admit that

05:47today, it was a demanding game for us, a really, really demanding game.

05:56I want to ask you about Taylor Howard-Bellis, someone you worked with when he was even younger

06:00and he's still young now, but he's been really important for Southampton since he's come.

06:03What's the development you've seen in him today from the player you last worked with?

06:06Top, top. I'm so happy for him, he's a lovely guy. I'm happy that he's settling in the Premier

06:14League, and he's an incredible threat for Southampton in set-pieces. And the composer

06:21where they had the ball, because I think the manager insists it doesn't matter how you

06:25have to play, you have to be close, you have to move different lines. Aaron Bramsell with

06:33the ball was magnificent today, how good they link inside, how good the lateral balls. I

06:38showed many images today to the team, so I warned them. To the team, I said, guys, today

06:43you have to feel that you will do a right moment with things, you will not be able to

06:50take the ball. You have to be strong in your men to continue, to continue, because they

06:54are good.

06:59A lot of Erling's goal contributions in the league this season have been directly decisive

07:03in securing the win, securing the points. We talk a lot about records and hat-tricks

07:09and all this stuff, but how much do you appreciate the fact that he also just brings the victories

07:13over the line like he does today?

07:16Not many times happen. It's not the first time that, thanks to Erling who won the game,

07:20I would say he scored the goals to win the game. It was important in the beginning, the

07:25start, but I think the first 15-20 minutes, second half, was excellent. In that moment,

07:33we should have killed the game. I would say we were a little bit fortunate that they didn't

07:38make high pressing. They were, at the moment, they would drop a lot, and that's why when

07:42they had the ball they struggled a little bit to arrive in the final third. But we created

07:48chances to score a goal, so the result is fair. But just the nasty in the game today

07:54so something that meant a lot to us, a lot.

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