DBasia.news – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola tries to invite Maurizio Sarri to play a mind game ahead of week 26 of the Premier League at Etihad Stadium on Sunday (10/2) at 23.00 Western Indonesian Time.
When the public compared the philosophy of football that Sarri tried to instill in his first season with Chelsea, with Guardiola entering his third year training the Citizens, most considered Sarri’s tactics boring.
Chelsea are dominant in possession. However, their game is predictable, monotonous, and the composition of the players on the team tends to rely on the same players. Moreover, the opponent already knows for certain that Jorginho is a weak point in the Chelsea playing system.
Guardiola did not take part in looking down on the Blues. Especially in last December Chelsea won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge over City. In fact, the Spanish manager appreciated Sarri’s performance and praised the quality of the Chelsea squad.
“As a spectator and coach I try to find out what the manager wants to try. I see Chelsea and I can understand what they want to do. And after I see them, they do it,” explained Guardiola, quoted from Sky Sports.
“Maybe for others they don’t know exactly what they are doing, but they do it, and when you see the team, the players they have, the bench – this is Chelsea, friend.”
“The world’s best attackers are there, the world’s best midfielders, good goalkeepers, experienced defenders. They know exactly what they want to do. Tomorrow’s final match for us,” said Guardiola.
Furthermore, Guardiola’s mind game continued by giving confidence to Chelsea that they could still fight for the Premier League. Despite the fact now, Chelsea prefer to secure a place in the top four (Champions League zone), rather than forcing themselves to pursue the Premier League title.
Mathematically, Chelsea can still catch 12 points if it sweeps away the remaining games with a victory. But, the consistent performance shown by Man City and Liverpool should be considered.
“The season is great for them – the League Cup final, going to the (knockout phase) of the Europa League, and in the Premier League they are there too, even though people don’t believe it. They have the chance to win – nine points (behind), but there are still many games to play,” explained Guardiola.