The Catalan picked something
close to his strongest line-up in
the FA Cup and will do so again
in Monaco as he looks to end his
first season in style
It seemed for a moment that Pep
Guardiola was weighing up a sarcastic
response when asked about the
importance of the next seven days to
Manchester City’s season.
It is the kind of question which he has
dismissed in recent weeks, perhaps
because he sees it as an attempt to
overplay the situation, or to put
pressure on his players.
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Instead, after a second’s hesitation as
the journalists at his Friday press
conference wondered what was about
to come, he wholeheartedly agreed.
“Definitely,” he said. “It is an
important week. We have done a
good job especially in two
competitions, though we are doing
quite well in the Premier League as
well, but of course this week is so, so
important.”
Middlesbrough on Saturday lunchtime,
an opportunity to reach a Wembley FA
Cup semi-final, came ahead of the
Champions League trip to Monaco on
Wednesday and a home Premier
League clash with Liverpool next
Sunday.
“These three games will decide what's
going to happen in the next two
months - definitely," Guardiola
concurred.
The former Barcelona boss had aimed
to give his side a boost ahead of that
run by shuffling his pack a little - and,
despite the furore afterwards, it did a
little - by resting Raheem Sterling and
David Silva for the midweek game
against Stoke City. A goalless draw
suggests the rotation backfired but
there are, at least, two cup
competitions up for grabs.
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At the Riverside on Saturday morning,
Guardiola’s intentions were made
clear. With City one win from
Wembley, the Catalan went with
something like his strongest side.
Silva and Kevin De Bruyne teamed up
in the middle again, while Sterling
returned to the side to form a
fearsome front three with Leroy Sane
and Sergio Aguero.
Claudio Bravo was given a go in goal
while Aleksandar Kolarov and
Fernandinho were left on the bench -
perhaps with one eye on Monaco -
but Guardiola went with a stronger
side than most expected, and perhaps
many other managers would in his
position.
Vindication arrived after just three
minutes when David Silva finished off
a fine team move. Boro, to their
credit, kept going and although their
threat was fairly rudimentary, coming
via the pace of Adama Traore and
aerial threat at set-pieces, they did
worry City at times before the break.
After it, though, it was all City. Brad
Guzan kept them at bay on several
occasions but could do nothing when
Sane was released down the left and
crossed for Aguero, who composed
himself and fired in.
There was a gulf in class, and it was
because Guardiola went strong with
his line-up. “The cup is a final and at
the end you are not playing for one
point or three points,” he said on
Friday. “You have to win. It doesn't
matter.”
He is not the only manager to call
regular matches ‘finals’ but he
certainly does it a lot - it is no
coincidence that has now reached a
semi-final in all eight seasons of his
coaching career to date - and he was
certain he wasn’t going to lose this
game, even if there is the unavoidable
knock-on of tiredness further down
the line.
If his starting line-up was a statement
of intent regarding, his substitutions
were a statement of indifference.
When Nolito replaced Sane
immediately after City went 2-0 up
here, and with over 20 minutes to go,
it appeared Guardiola’s other key men
would start to come o
Howeever, with Yaya Toure spared
only the final 10 minutes and Aguero
the three minutes of injury time, it
does not appear that Guardiola is too
concerned about the possibility of
fatigue.
It was Monaco who faded late on in
the first leg and City might need them
to again on Wednesday, if the Blues’
two-away-goal aggregate lead is
chipped into by the vibrant Ligue 1
leaders. Still, with an FA Cup semi
now safely in the bag, that is for
Guardiola to work out.
And although league title may be
gone, the top four places are still up
for grabs and with Arsenal and
Chelsea waiting after the Liverpool
game, and United to visit the Etihad
sometime at the end of April, the
fixtures might start to pile up - at the
time when cup competitions are back
on the cards.
Clearly, though, Guardiola is not
thinking overly worried about that.
“The schedule is the schedule” is
another one of his favourite phrases
and while it may pose a selection
headache or two down the line it is
hard to argue that any team would be
better off out of the cups come April,
May and June.
And it will be that message which City
fans carry with them back to
Manchester on Saturday afternoon.
City, tired as they may be, are looking
good.
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