Premier League leaders Manchester City left it late to seal a 2-1 win over West Ham United on Sunday but Sky Blues boss Pep Guardiola insisted he was never in doubt over his side’s ability to score at the Etihad.
“I would prefer we had the game won before the last moments, but the Premier League is the Premier League,” the Catalan tactician stated after the game.
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Angelo Ogbonna had headed the visitors into a shock lead on the stroke of half-time but City responded via Nicolas Otamendi to equalise proceedings. David Silva would then score an acrobatic volley late in the tie to give City a record-equalling 13 league win in a row.
“I heard about the ‘Fergie Time’; I wasn’t here in that period but of course you have seen what we’ve shown in past games: we don’t give up,” Guardiola revealed.
West Ham showed very little attacking intent throughout the tie, content with defending deep but Guardiola refused to criticise their approach as he said, “I understand and I don’t judge if a team just want to defend, so it’s difficult to attack them”.
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“Against Southampton I didn’t think we could get the winner, but today I did. West Ham didn’t want to play, they took time, so we had to be patient.”
Under Guardiola, City have wowed pundits and fans alike with their expansive style of football and while the Sky Blues weren’t able to hit top gear against the Hammers, their manager was happy with his side’s performance against the relegation-battlers.
“Today there were more chances for us and we conceded few, we had good rhythm and we were free behind the lines..I’m very pleased the way we played in second half. It showed me a lot. We can attack better and second half was better.”
The Sky Blues take on Shaktar Donetsk in their final UEFA Champions League Group-stage game in mid-week before making the short trip to Old Trafford to take on second-placed Manchester United in a massive Manchester Derby on Saturday.