Pep Guardiola claims he is 'more relaxed than ever' as Manchester City prepares for a crucial title race against Arsenal. City can take the top spot in the Premier League with a win against Burnley on Wednesday.
Key points
Guardiola feels more relaxed than ever this season
City is three points behind Arsenal with a game in hand
City can go top of the Premier League with a win against Burnley
City has won their last four games in all competitions
City recently defeated Arsenal 2-1
Manchester CityArsenalBurnley
âMy face speaks for himselfâ â Pep Guardiola says he is âmore relaxed than everâ amid Arsenal title race battle
âMy face speaks for himselfâ â Pep Guardiola says he is âmore relaxed than everâ amid Arsenal title race battle
Guardiola says he is âmore relaxed than everâ amid title run-in after struggles of last season
City manager says his players can read his mood from his face without him needing to say a word
Blues can go top of the Premier League with win away at Burnley on Wednesday night
Pep Guardiola has revealed he is more relaxed heading into the final weeks of the Premier League season than at any point in recent memory, insisting the contrast with last seasonâs anxiety could not be more stark.
City head into Wednesdayâs trip to Burnley three points behind Arsenal at the top of the table with a game in hand, having won each of their last four games in all competitions â including Sundayâs pivotal 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
The 2024-25 season represented one of the most difficult of Guardiolaâs managerial career and the weight of that experience, it seems, has given the 55-year-old an entirely different perspective on the pressures of a title run-in.
Burnley vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch
Guardiola: We are more relaxed than ever
Ahead of Manchester Cityâs trip to Burnley in midweek, Guardiola was asked whether he still gets nervous in the final weeks of a season
Q&A
Why does Pep Guardiola feel more relaxed this season?
Pep Guardiola feels more relaxed this season due to the stark contrast with the anxiety he experienced last season.
How many points behind Arsenal is Manchester City?
Manchester City is currently three points behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
What must Manchester City do to go top of the Premier League?
Manchester City must win their upcoming match against Burnley to go top of the Premier League.
What was the result of the recent match between Manchester City and Arsenal?
Manchester City won the recent match against Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
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âNo. Absolutely the opposite,â the Catalan said. âNervous was last season. Pressure, last season. I could bring, as a manager, the team not in the Champions League. Now weâre more relaxed than ever, even before Arsenal.
âThe feeling that we have done a really, really good season. Now is the moment to enjoy more than ever, knowing that we have, and every game is the message, itâs so clear. Itâs not even a message. They know it! Itâs completely the opposite.
âLast season, in Fulham away, the night before was tough, because qualifying for the Champions League is so important for the club. Now we have done it.
âWe have the Carabao Cup, semi-final in a few days against Southampton in Wembley, and try to fight to win the Premier League. So thatâs good, really, really good. Thatâs why Iâm a manager, to live these moments.â
The reference to last seasonâs night before Fulham is a rare glimpse of vulnerability from Guardiola, a candid admission of just how much the threat of missing the UEFA Champions League weighed on him personally.
Predicted Starting Line-Up: Burnley vs Manchester City (Premier League)
That the current moment, by contrast, feels like one to be savoured rather than endured speaks volumes about how far City have come in the space of twelve months.
My face speaks for itself, sayd Guardiola
On whether it is his responsibility to project calm to his players, Guardiola offered one of the more disarmingly simple answers of his press conference tenure.
âThey see me. My face speaks for itself perfectly,â the Manchester City manager added. âI donât need sometimes to talk when they see my eyes in my face. They know it and they know me, quite good.â
It is the kind of answer that reveals something deeper about the environment Guardiola has built at the Etihad Stadium, a dressing room in which the managerâs body language carries as much authority as any team talk. After nine years together, the relationship between the 55-year-old and his players is evidently one built on something beyond words.
With an FA Cup semi-final tie against Southampton at Wembley on the horizon and the title race alive to the final day, Guardiola is clearly determined to enjoy every remaining minute of what is shaping up to be one of the most memorable seasons of his remarkable career.
