Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be able to welcome back Nathan Ake in midweek as West Ham visit the Etihad Stadium.
20.04.2023 - 17:29 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester City players told each other some home truths to get their tilt at the Treble back on track.
Pep Guardiola's side rose to the top of the Premier League by beating leaders Arsenal in February but immediately ceded the position after being held by Nottingham Forest. They were then held to a 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash to leave all to play for in the second leg.
Those matches were followed by a ten-match winning run that only ended with a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Wednesday night that booked their place in the last four of the Champions League. They will take on Real Madrid in the semis in a mouth-watering repeat of when the two heavyweights clashed last year, with the Spanish side emerging victorious in dramatic circumstances.
Also read: City players ignore Bayern warning to make good on Guardiola vow
Guardiola has disputed the idea that his team dropped off drastically after the World Cup, yet there is no question that they have taken it up a level as more and more players have found form. And while their draw at Forest was one of those rare days where the Blues do not make their dominance count, the players hammered home to each other that it could not happen again if they were to enjoy success this year.
"It’s something that you feel inside and how you talk with the team. We had a conversation," said midfielder Rodri. "It’s not enough to play good, you need to punish. I remember the game in Nottingham, these kind of games cannot happen.
"That is where we have improved: to finish the games. You’ve seen it in the last months that almost every chance we score. We identified the fact that we needed to punish our rivals. The quality of the performance was
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be able to welcome back Nathan Ake in midweek as West Ham visit the Etihad Stadium.
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