Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola’s first season in England is not going to the way he planned. His Manchester City side are currently out of the top four, endangering their chances of qualifying for the Champions League — let alone winning the title. 

They also have the most losses out of all teams in the top six with five defeats, and conceded the most goals with 28. The team has many problems on the pitch, and converting their chances inside the final third seems to be the biggest one.

Going into Sunday’s match against Everton, Pep Guardiola was faced with the dilemma of having neither of his preferred midfield options available for selection. After Ilkay Gundogan’s cruciate ligament injury in December and Fernandinho’s suspension, the unlikely pairing of Pablo Zabaleta and the once discarded Yaya Toure were left to enact the Guardiola philosophy.

The rumor mill has been heating up as clubs start making moves this January. One big-time rumor that might make waves in the coming weeks, should it turn into reality, is Manchester City’s reported interest in Ivan Rakitic.

The Barcelona midfielder has been warming the bench for Luis Enrique’s side since early December, and a move to play under Pep Guardiola might prove alluring to the Croatian playmaker.

Still, how well would he fit into Guardiola’s team?

Goals from Yaya Toure, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, John Stones and a Havard Nordtveit own goal saw Manchester City demolish West Ham at the London Stadium, 5-0. The visitors were slick in possession, holding over 67% of it, with Toure dominating the midfield and Raheem Sterling troubling a static West Ham backline throughout.

For West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, it was another torrid performance at their new home, which has been anything but a fortress this season.

After his first game managing in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola was asked if he would sacrifice his style for results. He boldly answered, "Impossible, impossible. It's a sacrifice for what reason? If you lose a game, and you believe in it, you keep going.”

Apparently Pep Guardiola has forbidden his players from having sexy time after midnight, for fear that they won't get enough sleep.

This information comes from Samir Nasri, who spent a little time with Guardiola at Manchester City before being shipped off on loan to Sevilla.

This quote from Nasri, via the BBC, is beautiful:

So much of the prematch hype for Barcelona versus Manchester City centered on the 4-0 hiding Barca had administered the Citizens only two weeks previously. If Guardiola’s new side ever aspired to reach the levels of his former protegees, that scoreline demonstrated how much work still remained.

The return match in Manchester started brightly for City. An early penalty appeal from Raheem Sterling saw the attacker booked for simulation, an extremely harsh reading of what looked an almost certain penalty.