Pep Talk: (The Season is) “A challenge, (we) never thought it was easy, we cannot complain when all around the world are suffering more than us.”

Pep Guardiola had an unusually compelling comments made today. He hit back at Jurgen Klopp for claiming City had a two week break this season. Other notes Pep touched on were injuries, Joao Cancelo’s role, Sunday’s match, and much more.

Let’s dive in-

“The game is to win and three points. It’s not how may games and centuries and so on. It’s another game in the #PL - 38 games and so on.”

“I don’t make predictions because I don’t know. I don’t know about my team so imagine about the other teams. Sixty days ago we were twelfth now we are first, I’m not more than concerned about the Liverpool game.”

“Always difficult to face Liverpool. Top club, top players, top background, top coaches.”

(On Klopp’s erroneous claims) “He made a mistake, it was two months, three months, four months That’s why we’re in top four now. Jurgen has to see the calendar again...” “We had COVID, we had one week, we played with 14 players in Stamford Bridge Maybe I’m wrong and it was two or three week. Tomorrow when I see Jurgen I will ask him how long we had off.” “I’m surprised, I thought Jurgen was not that kind of manager, I didn’t expect that comment. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. If he sees the calendar he will see it was not two weeks, it was two months...” “I will tell him tomorrow. I’m not irritated. From him I didn’t expect it. He knows it’s not true. Nobody in the #PL has two weeks off. It might be for a purpose but I didn’t expect. I thought he wasn’t that type of guy. Maybe I was wrong.”

“They have to, the reason we won a lot of titles is because everyone is important. We cannot win big prizes with 12, 13 players. I know how the teams have to win, when they drop we are still there.”

“It’s because we have many many players. We miss Sergio and Kevin, and we hope Nathan can come back as soon as possible.”

“A lot of points, a team that is off the title race and no team is already winning the #PL title. How many leaders this season and changes up and down, it can happen again. Tomorrow we focus on what we can do, then Swansea, then Tottenham.”

“I confess, one game at a time since 2007. It’s not news. Sheffield United and Burnley don’t give us points, it’s three points, no more than that. Just three more points.”

“We don’t forget it, but they forgot it, of course. A challenge, never thought it was easy, we cannot complain when all around the world are suffering more than us.”

“We are incredibly fortunate and lucky, when you have a lot of cases and injuries, when we had COVID before Everton, we said it is what it is. It happened to us, Newcastle, Atletico Madrid...”

“When we buy a player like Joao we think he will play wide but when we talk to him, like with Zinchenko and Delph who play incredibly well. Fabian was key to our first #PL. You start to see the moments he has so maybe he can do it.”

“Of course will be important, I cannot deny it. When you beat Liverpool, United, Tottenham, Leicester, Chelsea, Arsenal, Burnley, it’s so important to beat them.”

“What I want to see is my team to go to Anfield to win the game like we have done since we were together. We have not had exceptional results there but we made good performances.”

What a press conference! Unsurprisingly Klopp is out complaining again. Pep was mostly respectful, but he was in the right 100%. City had no more than two days that week and had to play a match with 13 players available. Pep made no excuses then and won’t now.

Sunday will be a fantastic match.

Can’t wait!