Pep Guardiola says the mood around Manchester City is “better” but he is still not convinced the defending Premier League champions have regained their mojo.
City have won their last three games, two in the league and Saturday’s 8-0 demolition of neighbours Salford City in the FA Cup, after emerging from a dismal run that saw them claim just one victory in 13.
They head to Brentford tomorrow night and Guardiola believes the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium will provide a good barometer on the team’s progress.
He said: “We won three games. Before it was impossible to win one.
“Now we have won three, and that helps us. But the reality is we won against a team in the last game that, for many reasons – the difference between the Premier League and League Two, we should win.
“We did it quite well, but still we have to wait to see if we are who we are, but the mood is better.
PEP 💬 Of course, we won three games. Before it was impossible to win one and now we won three. That helps us… The mood is better. We have an enormously difficult game [against Brentford]. Thomas [Frank] and his team always create a lot of problems. They are a fantastic,… pic.twitter.com/Uc02SWKDgx
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 13, 2025
“Tomorrow we have an enormously difficult game. With what happened in the last seasons it is always a team who create a lot of problems. They have been a long, long time with Thomas [Frank].
“They are a fantastic team but at the same time we know what we are playing for.”
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No update on Walker
The weekend triumph was overshadowed by news Kyle Walker had asked to leave City to further his career abroad.
The two Milan clubs reportedly lead the race for the England right-back but Guardiola refused to be drawn on Walker’s future today, adding: “No, no news. I will decide [if he will be in the squad against Brentford] this afternoon, after training.
“I won’t add anything else. I don’t have any news. It’s Brentford on my mind.”
Injuries have prompted transfer re-think, says Pep
City have reportedly agreed a fee with Lens for defender Abdukodir Khusanov while Palmeiras’ teenage centre-half Vitor Reis and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush are also targets.
Guardiola was not keen on discussing transfer matters but did concede injuries could force them into the market.
“It’s what I want [players to return from injury],” he said. “If it would’ve happened, we would not have gone to the transfer window this season, absolutely not. And we would not be in the position that we are. But we struggled all season.
“We’ve had a lot of problems especially in the back four and still we have, and that is the reason why the club is thinking what we are going to do this transfer window or maybe in the summer.
“From the beginning of the season, it was at the back and in the middle. The positions up-front we are more or less okay, but at the back all season we’ve struggled a lot.”
