‘You expect us to come here and win 0-5?’ — Pep defensive after draw against Leipzig

February 23, 2023 Sports 2 Views

Pep Guardiola spoke after Manchester City’s draw against Leipzig, as he expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance against a competitive side.

Pep Guardiola has praised his side’s performance despite drawing against Leipzig, saying he was happy with the whole game against a difficult opponent who were never going to be steamrolled.

Manchester City drew 1-1 against Leipzig in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League encounter at the Red Bull Arena, setting up an all-to-play-for return leg.

A game of two halves

Manchester City were utterly dominant in the first-half, before and after their goal from a Mahrez strike in the 27th minute.

However the second-half saw Marco Rose’s men take the game to their visitors, and they were rewarded for their effort in the 70th minute with a goal when Josko Gvardiol pulled the hosts level.

Pep Guardiola, speaking to BT Sport after the game, revealed that he was happy with both halves of the game and not just the first, where his team was dominant.

Manchester City appreciating the travelling fans after the game

He points out that his team were the better side in the last 15-20 minutes of the game after they initially struggled to deal with Leipzig’s pressure, praising his team’s effort to regain momentum.

Pep explained that the encounter’s difficulty was to be expected, as Leipzig were a competitive side, and it was not realistic to think his team would play them out of the park.

“They made a step forward and pressed higher and we had more problems to make the build-up,” Pep said, per the BBC.

“After the goal, we concede and we come back and played a good last 15-20 minutes. We had good chances in both halves and a good result and we go to decide it in Manchester.

“I am happy for the whole game, not just the first half. What do you expect? That we play a friendly game here? How many games have you seen from Leipzig? You expect us to come here and win 0-5? That is not a reality.

“This is a competition that in the group stage many important teams are out. It is difficult. We are a good team and we do many, many good things. We continued to do this. People expect us to come here and win 0-4, I am sorry we are not able to do this.”

‘Haaland is doing his job’ — Matthew Upson

Erling Haaland struggled again to affect the match, a recurring theme in recent games, as he failed to register a shot on target against Leipzig.

Haaland did not register a shot on target against Leipzig

However, former England defender Matthew Upson, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, defended the big Norwegian, explaining that he is doing what his manager has asked of him and that his manager is happy with his involvement.

The defender, who was part of England’s 2010 World Cup squad, disagrees with criticism of Haaland, referencing his numbers this season.

‘You can’t say he doesn’t do his job when you look at the numbers,” he said, per the BBC.

“I know he didn’t score tonight, but that’s his role, that’s how they play. His manager seems happy with it and he seems happy that he’s scoring loads of goals and going to be breaking records in terms of that.

“How can you look at Man City and say that they’re not successful at the moment, with the amount of goals that they’re scoring?”

Haaland would have a fresh opportunity to silence his critics when Manchester City travel to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Saturday.