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Pep Guardiola says the mood around Manchester City is “better” but he is still not convinced the defending Premier League champions have regained their form.
City have won their last three games, two in the Championship and Saturday’s 8-0 demolition of neighbors Salford City in the FA Cup, as they bounced back from a poor run in which they have won just one of 13 games.
They travel to Brentford tomorrow night and Guardiola believes the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium will provide a good barometer of the team’s progress.
He said: “We won three games. It used to be impossible to win one.
“Now we have won three and that helps us. But the reality is that we won against a team in the last game that, for many reasons – the difference between the Premier League and League Two, we should have beaten.
“We did it quite well, but we still have to wait and see if we are what we are, but the mood is better.
PEP 💬 Of course, we won three games. Before it was impossible to win one, but now we have won three. That helps us… The mood is better. We have a very difficult game (against Brentford). Thomas (Frank) and his team always cause a lot of trouble. They are fantastic,… pic.twitter.com/Uc02SWKDgx
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 13, 2025
“An extremely difficult match awaits us tomorrow. With what has happened in recent seasons, it is always the team that creates a lot of problems. They were with Thomas (Frank) for a long, long time.
“They are a fantastic team, but at the same time we know what we are playing for.”
No news on Walker
The weekend triumph was overshadowed by the news that Kyle Walker has asked to leave City to continue his career abroad.
The two Milan clubs are said to be leading the race for the England right-back, but Guardiola refused to be spoken to about Walker’s future today, adding: “No, there is no news. I will decide (whether he will be in the team against Brentford) in the afternoon, after training.
“I will not add anything more. I don’t have any news. Brentford is on my mind.”
Injuries prompted a rethink about the transfer, says Pep
City have reportedly agreed a fee with Lens for defender Abdukodir Khusanov, while Palmeiras teenager Vitor Reis and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush are also being targeted.
Guardiola was not interested in transfer talks but admitted injuries could force them into the market.
“That’s what I want (for players to come back from injuries),” he said. “If that had happened, we would not have gone to the transfer window this season, absolutely not. And we wouldn’t be in the position we are in. But we struggled all season.
“We had a lot of problems especially in the back four and we still have them, and that is the reason why the club is thinking about what we will do in this transfer window or maybe in the summer.
“From the beginning of the season, it was at the back and in the middle. The forward positions are more or less good, but at the back we struggled a lot all season.”
