future after the Belgian's sublime display inspired his side to an
emphatic 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
De Bruyne smashed in City's second goal on Saturday and had a hand
in their third, scored by Raheem Sterling, who went on to complete a
brace as City registered a record-extending 16th successive Premier
League win.
De Bruyne's hurtful passing repeatedly tore holes in the Spurs
defence and Guardiola said that ability on the ball, allied to his
exemplary work-rate, made him a figurehead for the club's young
players.
"Kevin is one of the most talented players and you see how he runs
without the ball," said the City manager.
"You cannot imagine how good he plays with the ball, but he runs
like a player in the Conference (semi-professional) league.
"It's a good example for the young players, for our academy, for Phil
Foden, for Brahim (Diaz). They know how good Kevin De Bruyne is.
And when they see how he runs and he fights without the ball, that
is the best example.
"He helps us to be a better club, a better institution for the future.
Because that is what we want to do. His performance today, I have
no words."
The one-sided win at a misty Etihad Stadium gave City a provisional
14-point lead at the top of the table, ahead of second-place
Manchester United's trip to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Guardiola has matched his best winning run with Barcelona from their
all-conquering 2010-11 season and stands three wins short of his
own record for Europe's five major leagues, which he set at Bayern
Munich in 2013-14.
"Of course I'm proud," said Guardiola.
"I don't want to be humble right now. I'm proud with my staff to
achieve that with three teams, every day being there. We work a lot
and the players know that.
"And of course that's happened because I was with three amazing
clubs: Barcelona, Bayern Munich and this one. All three clubs
supported me, all the decisions we believe in and they provide me
with outstanding players.
"Without good players and the club supporting your ideas, it's
impossible to achieve this kind of thing."
Hotheaded Alli
Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead in the 14th minute, ghosting in
unmarked to head Leroy Sane's corner past Hugo Lloris.
After Spurs rallied in the second half, De Bruyne carried the game
beyond them, rifling home a left-foot shot in the 70th minute and
sparking the move that culminated in Sane teeing up Sterling for a
tap-in.
Sterling added another, smuggling his way past Lloris and walking the
ball in, before Christian Eriksen claimed a stoppage-time consolation.
De Bruyne's goal -- his seventh of the season -- occurred moments
after he had been left in a heap by an ugly ankle-high challenge
from Dele Alli, who escaped with only a booking.
Harry Kane, too, was shown only a yellow card for an untidy foul on
Sterling, but although Guardiola felt both tackles were "dangerous", he
refused to criticise referee Craig Pawson.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino was reluctant to discuss the
hotheaded Alli and instead urged his team to take inspiration from
City's display.
"Look, I'm not going to talk about individual names today because it's
not fair," said the Argentinian, whose team slipped from fourth to
seventh.
"The most important thing is our collective performance wasn't how
we expect and I think we were poor. Not only poor -- the way we
conceded the first goal was a massive mistake for us.
"When you play against teams like Manchester City, if you concede a
goal like this after 15 minutes, come on. We can't assess individual
performances.
"We need to learn from this situation. Today was a very good
example of a team that believe, that have quality and is in very
good form. They deserved the victory completely."
No comments:
Post a Comment