“They Forget to Play!” – Pep Guardiola Reveals Why He Never Asks Manchester City Players to Keep a ‘Clean Sheet’

Manchester City’s quest for an unprecedented 4th Premier League title in a row hasn’t been smooth sailing so far. Pep Guardiola & Co. find themselves behind Liverpool & Arsenal. However, one attribute you can’t fault the Sky Blues for is their defending. Having conceded just 33 goals in 2022/23, Manchester City is on course to better that metric with just 26 goals scored against them this season. An impressive feat considering all their defensive injuries. And the secret, as per Pep Guardiola, is to avoid saying, “We have to take clean sheets!”

The Spanish manager revealed in his recent presser, “Never I focus on clean sheets.” The Man City boss explained his stance, saying, “If you say just clean sheets, they forget to play. Always defending and forget what they have to do.” For the Spaniard, the priority lies in conceding few chances. He explained, “The average to concede few chances is the most important thing, from my point of view.” However, the Spaniard admits that despite conceding a few chances, it is possible to leak goals.

He said, “But at the same time, when we concede few, and we concede goals, we have to improve it, yeah. Guardiola concluded, “So goals are avoidable, and hopefully next time it doesn’t happen.” It seems Pep Guardiola is referring to the recent Chelsea game. Despite having 71% of the possession, and creating the bulk of the chances, Chelsea scored through a blistering counterattack.

It is worth noting that in the last 10 games, Man City has failed to keep a clean sheet in 6 games. Yet, Guardiola seems to prioritize the process over the end result. However, the club’s captain, Kyle Walker, has a different stance regarding their defensive performances.

Unlike Pep Guardiola, for Kyle Walker, the priority remains the ‘clean sheet’

Fullback Kyle Walker didn’t seem too pleased after the draw against Chelsea at the Etihad. In the post-match press conference, he said that there is no easy solution to avoid conceding goals. He did say, “As a defender, it’s like a goal for me, keeping a clean sheet. That’s my job in this team to make sure that they don’t put the ball in the back of the net, so it hurts.”

Read More: Manchester City vs Brentford: Expected Lineups, Injury News, Predictions, Odds, Head-to-Head Stats & How To Watch

However, it must be noted that Man City faced many issues regarding defensive availabilities. Summer signing Josko Gvardiol is out with an ankle ligament issue. Akanji too missed 4 games in January because of an injury. The star of last year’s Champions League final, John Stones, has missed nearly 2 months of action this season.

Hence, all things considered, Man City has done more than well with regard to their defensive performances.

WATCH THIS STORY: Ten Times Cristiano Ronaldo Scored Four Goals in a Game