In one of the central matches of the 22nd round of the English Premier League, the Manchester derby, Manchester City lost 2-0 away to their compatriot Manchester United. After the match, City's head coach, Josep Guardiola, assessed the game and openly stated that his team lacked the decisive moment - energy and the necessary mood.
The Spanish manager emphasized that despite playing at Old Trafford numerous times, he failed to perform as required to secure victory in today's derby.
"Manchester United had an aspect we didn't have. I've been to this stadium a lot, but today we weren't at the level we needed to win such games. Four days ago, in the match against Newcastle, there was that energy, but today it's gone," Guardiola said.
The coach noted that the game itself wasn't very bad, but the result wasn't satisfactory. In his opinion, the opponent was more organized and energetic this time than City.
"Our game wasn't bad, but we didn't achieve the desired result. This happens in football. It was a simple game, and the opponent played better than us. "MU has a new coach, and it was they who showed the energy we lacked in the derby," he added.
Guardiola also recalled that the squad had been significantly renewed in the last two transfer windows, emphasizing the need to adapt to such changes. He says his main concern is whether the team will score more points.
"In the last two transfer windows, we changed the squad a lot, we need to adapt to this. I'm thinking about scoring more points. Of course, it would be good to score more goals. Over the past 12 months, the team has been significantly renewed, but the morale is still high," the coach said.
The coach also cited examples from recent matches: in some matches, City failed to show their level, and in others, despite a good game, they lacked goals.
"Today we were unable to raise our level. But we played brilliantly against Sunderland. In the matches against Brighton and Chelsea, we played well but couldn't score the necessary goals for the victory," said Guardiola.
Speaking about the young footballer Max Allen, the coach praised his positive performance in recent matches, but assessed his loss in today's opening episodes as a natural process.
"Max looked very good in the last two games. Today, of course, he lost the first two episodes. But it is precisely such experiences that are most necessary for young football players - through which they mature. For example, in the game against Newcastle, he was amazing, really very good," he said.
Regarding Mark Gehry's potential transfer to Manchester City, Guardiola said he doesn't have official information yet:
"I haven't officially received any information from the club yet. If it's clear, I'll find out at the same time as you. They say the agreement is close, but I just spoke with Ferran Soriano and Hugo Viana - they didn't say anything about it," the specialist said.
For information, in the Manchester derby, Uzbek defender Abdukodir Khusanov played for the main squad of "Manchester City" and played the full 90 minutes of the match.
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