Pep Guardiola has seen this before, just not this bad.
The Manchester City manager was clearly frustrated with his team’s lack of finishing against Everton, and lamented his team’s soft mental state after Everton obliterated City 4-0 despite 71% possession for the visitors at Goodison Park.
“I saw what happened in many many games in the past. We make a good first half, we create enough chances to score a goal - like in the penalty more than clearly in the first minute, then after with David was one-against-one. But what’s happened in so many games, we create enough chances to score a goal so when they [Everton] arrive and score a goal then the second time they arrive and score a goal. They arrive twice and score a goal, for the mind of the players, it’s tough, it is mentally tough.”
Clearly, Guardiola knew this had been coming, as he’s seen it before this season. City has lost five times now and sits fifth in the Premier League table despite being the only team in the English top flight to play every league game with a possessional advantage.
When asked if he was more frustrated with the poor finishing or the poor defending, Guardiola said they are related. “When you score goals when you have chances, you are more optimistic, you defend better.”
