‘People want to destroy everything’: Manchester City manager Guardiola faces critics after Marseille win



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The Spaniard led his team to a much-needed victory in Europe amid an indifferent start to his Premier League campaign

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said his side would have to accept criticism after an indifferent start to the 2020-21 season.

City are ranked 13th in the Premier League after starting the campaign with two wins, two draws and a 5-2 loss to Leicester City.

The team’s Champions League campaign is off to a better start, with last week’s 3-1 win over Porto followed by Tuesday’s 3-0 win in Marseille.

Ferran Torres, Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling scored at the Stade Velodrome for Guardiola’s men to take the lead in Group C.

It was an important result for City, who have faced much criticism after Guardiola made his worst start to the season as head coach.

The Spaniard said he understands why his team has been under fire, even if circumstances this season have made things more challenging.

“We have to accept criticism,” Guardiola said BT sport. “We play every three days, when you win it’s good, but if not, people want to destroy everything.

“But it’s about the president and everyone else understanding. Some of the criticism was correct, but you have to accept it. It’s part of our job.

“It’s about where we’ve come from in the last month, with a lack of preparation, injuries and Covid-19, but the Champions League is in a good place now. I’m sure we’re going to find that consistency.”

Guardiola also expressed satisfaction with City’s performance on a night in which they completely defeated the Ligue 1 runner-up from last season.

“We played very well, we didn’t concede much and we were in control, patient and aggressive without the ball,” Guardiola added. “I am so satisfied with the performance and the result, it is always difficult to win.

“We can play both sides, we try to play tall and wide to stretch the field. Raheem Sterling was exceptional, Phil [Foden] too. We weren’t expecting them to play five back until we saw the team. Porto was the same. As much as we played against five at the rear, we started to take control and pace.

“We were so stable defensively. Aymeric [Laporte] it was alright kyle [Walker] he’s in the best shape since we’ve been together, Oleksandr [Zinchenko] helped us, John [Stones] He played good minutes. I am very satisfied with the way we play. “

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