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'Exceptional' - Pep Guardiola gives positive verdict on Man City performances despite recent wobble

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is satisfied with his team's performances despite some underwhelming results in recent weeks.

City endured two frustrating draws
Back to winning ways against Bournemouth
Guardiola highlighted "exceptional" mentality

WHAT HAPPENED? City bounced back from two successive 1-1 draws with a 4-1 demolition of Bournemouth on Saturday, reducing the gap at the top of the Premier League table to just two points. After a somewhat prickly reaction to dropping two points at Leipzig in midweek, Guardiola showered praise on his side following their weekend exploits, highlighting his players' mentality and determination in particular.

WHAT THEY SAID: "Exceptional," the City boss told reporters. "Well after Nottingham we were not consistent but now we are consistent because we won one game. In our game we are playing it is good, the results could be better in terms of winning against Spurs and Nottingham [Forest], but it is football and sometimes that happens. No complaints for the way we are playing and fighting. After the last game I said the mood is exceptional and the guys are doing everything that is enough for me.

"We are playing in three competitions tomorrow and the Champions League is another chance. When you miss, when you lose in terms of the Premier League we are closing right to the last ten games of the season and that will define [it]. I have the feeling in the Premier League many things are going to happen, everyone is going to drop points but we cannot drop any, we want to fight until the end."

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THE BIGGER PICTURE: Not only are City back to winning ways after two frustrating draws, but main man up top Erling Haaland is back in the goals with his landmark strike on Saturday. The big Norwegian had failed to score against both Forest and Leipzig and was guilty for spurning several big opportunities. But his strike against Bournemouth was his 27th of the 2022-23 season, beating Sergio Aguero's City league record of 26 scored in the 2014-15 campaign with 13 games still to play.

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