Guardiola on De Bruyne MoTM performance and City 5-2 Palace

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Guardiola on De Bruyne MoTM performance and City 5-2 Palace  12/04/2025  Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK

Transcript

00:00Afternoon guys, Max on the other side, we'll take a show of hands, come to as many views

00:08as we can, we'll set an embargo towards the end for 10.30 on Sunday evening.

00:11Let's start with Simon.

00:13Congratulations, given the way the game started, what does it say about the character of your

00:19team that you came back and won as well as you did, and can you just talk about the performance

00:24of Kevin De Bruyne?

00:30The performance of Kevin, so as we have done for many, many years, for many, many games.

00:36Unfortunately, Lillie couldn't adopt the problem that he has injured for one year, long year,

00:41so surgery and so on, but he played fantastic.

00:46He helped us to break this momentum that was not good, but the game will start really well.

00:51We played really good, except the 2-0 down was a moment that normally for the team.

01:00the situation, but we're playing, it creates a lot of chances, you cannot forget Crystal Palace,

01:05the momentum that is coming here with the best team in the last six games, and the second

01:12best one in the last 10-11, much, much better than us, for example, in terms of points.

01:16So 2-0 down was not easy, but yeah, we stick with the plan and the players play really, really

01:23good in all senses, and in the situation that we have, there are seven games left, now six.

01:29We need points to qualify for the Champions League, so that has been massively important.

01:32I know you're in the middle of trying to qualify for the Champions League, but when you see

01:38De Bruyne coming off and getting the standing ovation and then going round and he's saying,

01:43waving to his children, do you think he will not really be appreciated as good as he is

01:49until he's not there anymore?

01:51De Bruyne coming off.

01:52De Bruyne coming off.

01:53De Bruyne coming off.

01:54De Bruyne coming off.

01:55De Bruyne coming off.

01:56So, I don't have any doubt about that.

01:58I said a few press conferences before, so the grateful, the gratitude we have, I have to

02:09him, is huge.

02:12So I've done incredible and I know that we can deliver,

02:18had delivered, we can deliver and happy that he was helping us.

02:21So he played, he fought a lot against United.

02:25He was brilliant with the ball, but today was fought

02:27and the ball was so, so clever and the goals and the assists

02:32and we helped, yeah, he helped a lot to win that game.

02:37How did you feel when your team went 2-0 down?

02:45Well, not happy, but I tried to become in terms of we were not playing bad.

02:50After 2-0, yeah, we lost a little bit.

02:52We attacked Mumu so quick and when that's happened against that base,

02:56that Sar, Eze, Mateta or all the players, it's so difficult.

03:01Munoz, it's difficult to do it there, but after the goal for Kevin,

03:06in the momentum, we scored two in the second part,

03:08with just one or two things, we were more in the position.

03:12In the teams, you have to move them right, left, left, right, right, left, left, right.

03:15You want to attack a little bit quicker, you are in trouble.

03:20And with that, look how many chances we create.

03:22So we scored five goals, but I remember three of my team from the keeper,

03:27one on Omar, one on Kevin, two from Omar, so clear chances,

03:33one against one is the keeper, so that is the way we have done in many years,

03:37the way we have to do, run, solidarity, that again,

03:40since the Bournemouth game in the FA Cup, we are back in that terms,

03:43and the way we play, the way we play in Old Trafford was not good,

03:48but the spirit was there, but was not really good,

03:50because we were not in the position, today we were in the position,

03:53that's how we can find the players that can make the difference.

03:56Because Gundogan was extraordinary today, so all of them, so that's why it's,

04:01yeah, it's a good weekend for us.

04:03Do you want each guys to get through the list in the middle here?

04:05Hi Pep.

04:06We saw De Bruyne's brilliance today.

04:08Do you think that James McAtee can step up next season

04:10to be the sort of creative force?

04:13No one can do what Kevin has done.

04:18I don't want to put one second pressure, with the players that we have now,

04:23I don't want to put pressure to Maka, Maka played not many minutes,

04:27but I know the quality that he has in the final third,

04:32because he scored one goal, he could score four, have this sense,

04:35if you want to play, he can score four,

04:36it's because he has the sense to rise to the box,

04:38and no matter the absence from Erling, and the absence from Phil,

04:43we need players that have the smell that can score a goal,

04:47and today he didn't deliver, but I know he can.

04:52With today and the Bournemouth game the other week,

04:56do you think you've needed these comebacks where you've actually sort of...

05:01The 2-0 down to back?

05:02Yeah, today, and the Bournemouth one as well seemed like a big result.

05:06Yeah, but this season, maybe it's the season where we can buy more results.

05:10We were not a team in the previous season when we conceded a goal,

05:13we were able to turn around this season,

05:15there have been the season many times,

05:17but this season we have done because we have not played good.

05:21The levels have been quite similar like today,

05:25we have been up there fighting with the top teams,

05:28but the team has not been playing good,

05:31and without this energy that was a characteristic of the generation of players,

05:37but some seasons happen, we learn and try to do the damage,

05:43don't be as much as possible,

05:45going to Europe next season and fighting for the FA Cup and prepare the whole Cup next season.

05:50I just thought how strong you were going forward in the last hour of the game today,

05:55is something that you can hold on to going into the must-win games in the next few weeks.

06:01Now we have two days off, the players must be mentally rest,

06:07we prepare four or five days at Goodison Park,

06:09and after an important week we have the Aston Villa FA Cup,

06:14and I think we will be ready, the players are exceptional,

06:18so the way we are not playing not good,

06:21I am not going to tell that the players are not good,

06:24it is completely the opposite,

06:25we didn't click, we didn't find the spark or what we needed,

06:30I didn't find it,

06:33going in that direction to leave the players,

06:35going in that direction to leave the players,

06:37I have been many months and I didn't find it,

06:39but it sometimes happens,

06:41so you cannot win all the time and important as a seed,

06:45so in the season we have done,

06:47now the teams will be in the position 10 or 12, I promise you.

06:49The way the incredible situations that we had this season,

06:54especially with the injuries and went a little bit flat in many departments,

06:58will be miles and miles away back,

07:01and the Premier League speak for itself about that.

07:04And instead of that, the state is okay, it is not perfect,

07:06but it is in our hands in the last six games to qualify for the Champions League next season.

07:14Do you actually feel that things are much better now?

07:17Like you said, they are not perfect, but better.

07:20You said after the Bournemouth game you are back in those terms,

07:22in terms of running, I think you said the spirit was back,

07:25I think Gundogan gave an interview yesterday, he said something is back.

07:28Yeah, I agree.

07:30I think the Bournemouth game, we were able, both me and the team,

07:36to put the mirror in front of us and said, this is what...

07:40Watching the game in Bournemouth in the Premier League,

07:43when we lost the first game in the Premier League this season, 2-1,

07:48within the game I said, wow, I saw the reason why we are in the season what we had.

07:55And we talked about that, we saw about that, and after I said...

08:00Because the problem is identify the problem and realize that it's a problem,

08:06and after that move forward, try to make a solution.

08:10Maybe it took a lot of time to realize on that, and since then Old Trafford was not good.

08:18The game was boring.

08:21But we found, you know, we...

08:25At least, you know, the defenders and...

08:27OK, this is the part, this always has to be every time.

08:30And after we play good, better, OK, we will improve.

08:33We saw the game against five in the back from United,

08:37the spots we should occupy, the spots we need to play,

08:41that we didn't do it in there, and today we do it a little bit better,

08:44and thanks for that, we can create chances.

08:46We can create chances, but the talent is there.

08:48Look at the bench, how good they are, the injured.

08:50The players you have behind the bench, you have Rodri, you have Manu, Nathan, Erling,

08:56so they're top-class players.

08:58In the bench, imagine Bernardo, a player that I cannot identify my season,

09:03my period here without him.

09:05And Mateos has been outstanding these last games,

09:09since Wormuth, Semenyo, in the game in the Premier League,

09:14wow, it was a headache, and he controlled him perfectly.

09:17So, the players make a step up, and of course,

09:20they won't play the Champions the next season,

09:21and knowing that will be so difficult.

09:24With this from Park and Aston Villa next two games,

09:26I cannot say it will be easy.

09:28So, yeah, that is the point.

09:31Just on Kevin again, obviously, he's very technically gifted,

09:34but he's one of his best attributes, the fact that he is a leader,

09:38he kind of takes control of games like this when the team is flagging occasionally.

09:43Kevin is not a vocal leader.

09:44The leader is every day, during nine years, ten years,

09:47I've been every three days, except the last year and a half,

09:50being there, being there, helping the team.

09:52And I have something, talent unique, everybody knows it.

09:55I have a vision in the past, and have, you know,

09:59when the players up front, Kevin has the ball, and when he feels like this,

10:03they know they can run, because the ball can be delivered.

10:07The problem is when you make a run, when the delivered player is not with this talent,

10:11but that's why Kevin is the player in this history of this club,

10:18all history with most titles.

10:19So with that, define who has done Kevin with us.

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