Pep Guardiola suggested he was reasonably content with a hard-fought point at Sunderland, even as his Manchester City side lost ground to Arsenal at the summit of the Premier League.
The 0–0 draw at the Stadium of Light leaves City second, four points behind Mikel Arteta’s leaders. However, Guardiola remained in high spirits, seemingly unaffected by explosive reports that his former assistant, Enzo Maresca, had discussed a potential return to the Etihad to succeed him before his New Year’s Day sacking by Chelsea.
“I’ll take the point against this team at this stadium,” said a good-humoured Guardiola.
“It was an excellent game.”
Maresca’s departure from west London adds a layer of unpredictability to Sunday’s clash, as City prepare to host a Chelsea side now under the interim guidance of Calum McFarlane. Guardiola, who confirmed that winger Savinho’s second-half injury did not “look good,” urged his players to move past the frustration of seeing their eight-match winning streak snapped.
“The guys are a bit head down, but we have to be heads up in three days when we have a difficult game against Chelsea,” he said.
“Sunderland are really good; they are so strong, so physical. It’s a tough place to come. In the first half, we struggled against their pressing, but then Rodri came on, broke their lines, and the second half was excellent.”
Despite the late dominance, City’s uncharacteristic wastefulness in front of goal proved costly.
“I was very pleased with the performance, but we could not convert our chances in the six-yard box. We just missed a finishing touch. It’s a mystery that we could not score,” Guardiola added.
For Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris, the result was a testament to his side’s resilience as they preserved their unbeaten home record in their debut season back in the top flight.
“It’s one more good point against one of the best teams in Europe,” Le Bris said.
