Pep Guardiola Bemoans Poor City Form

Following his team’s Saturday 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, Pep Guardiola bemoans Man City’s poor game management.

City were 2-0 up and cruising after 75 minutes at the Etihad Stadium, but Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled a goal back before Michael Olise equalised through a 95th-minute penalty. Speaking after the match, City boss Guardiola admitted that his side’s capitulation was completely avoidable.

READ ALSO: Pep Guardiola Issues Worrying Update on Haaland Foot Injury 

Guardiola told reporters: “We had enough chances to score more goals… There’s 10 [Palace] players in the 18-yard box, it’s difficult! They don’t want to come out, and in the last minutes when it’s 2-1, they make one or two actions, always they have the motions, and we have to control it better!”

On the penalty incident, which saw Phil Foden hack down Mateta, Guardiola said: “Don’t give away that penalty, the game will be over. If Phil [Foden] kept the ball, or Bernardo [Silva] kept the ball, the game will be over. After, they have quality. The strikers, physicality from Crystal Palace always has been really, really, really good.”

With three league games played at the Etihad Stadium without a victory, City has now only won one of their previous six Premier League contests. However, Man City is only five points behind table-toppers Arsenal after Liverpool’s goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.

City will take a break from their domestic troubles by flying out to Saudi Arabia for the FIFA Club World Cup. On Tuesday they will take on Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in the semi-final.