Manager calm after ‘really good game’ at Sunderland
Chelsea visit Etihad on Sunday after sacking Maresca
An outwardly sanguine Pep Guardiola suggested he was reasonably content with a hard-fought point at Sunderland after watching his Manchester City side lose ground on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
The 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light leaves City second, four points behind Mikel Arteta’s leaders but Guardiola was not too downhearted. “I’ll take the point against this team at this stadium,” said a good-humoured Guardiola who seemed unaffected by reports that Enzo Maresca, once his assistant at the Etihad Stadium, had discussed the possibility of relocating to Manchester later this year with figures associated to City. “It was a really good game.”
Maresca’s sacking by Chelsea dictates Guardiola – who said the second-half injury that forced Savinho off did not “look good” – does not know quite what to expect when the London side visit the Etihad on Sunday. “The guys [players] are a bit head down but we have to be heads up in three days when we have a difficult game against Chelsea,” he said after seeing his team’s eight-match winning run in all competitions come to an end.
