Pep Guardiola has cautioned Manchester City to maintain their tension to get within striking distance of Premier League history at Tottenham.
With victories over Spurs and West Ham, City would complete an unprecedented quartet of Premier League titles, two wins shy of the current record.
On Tuesday night, Guardiola’s team will play Spurs in north London, and the former Barcelona manager has advised his players not to let up on the pressure.
With four straight wins, City has scored 15 goals and allowed just one, and a victory over Spurs would allow them to catch up to leaders Arsenal and reclaim the top spot in the standings.
Though they have only won once in the FA Cup, Guardiola’s club is without a win in league play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, failing even to score a goal in four losses in the top flight.
Guardiola forewarned, “If you play these games relaxed, it’s a big problem.”
There needs to be just the proper amount of tension and, um, focus.
“We must ask for the finest. Perhaps they have a big aim for them too and will play for Champions League qualifying.
“We also have a very large target at the same time.”
Regarding City’s dismal performance at Spurs’ new stadium, Guardiola acknowledged that his team needs to break over one barrier in north London to set themselves up for a Premier League record.
Regarding City’s struggles at Tottenham Stadium, Guardiola remarked, “Many times it happened we played good, many, many times we were not able to score and win the games.”
However, to do anything in this nation, you have to do something unique, and remarkable, as no other team has done before.
“And we have to do it this time since it has never occurred in the Premier League.
Thus, we must acknowledge that history is in front of us.
“Now is the time to do it; if we don’t, Arsenal will win the title.”
The recurrent champions of City are well aware of the pressure to go above and above to win trophies.
Guardiola said that his team is behaving with the same mentality that has brought them success in the past.
When asked if the atmosphere was the same as it was at this point in past years, he said it was. We are aware of the purpose of our game and the difficulty of returning to this place.
And before us is something exceptional. And we need to give it everything we’ve got—our finest performance.
Make an effort to read the game that we will be playing precisely, make the best interpretation you can, and then move on.
