Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that he was wrong to describe Spurs as ‘the Harry Kane team' last season. The jibe, which Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino called ‘disrespectful', was intended as a compliment to the talismanic England striker, and ahead of tonight's clash between the two clubs, Guardiola has suggested that Spurs have already proven him wrong.
Since taking over as Man City manager in the summer of 2016, Pep Guardiola has learned much about Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham. The decorated Spaniard suffered a 2-0 defeat in his first trip away to Spurs, before being held to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad in the reverse fixture. Guardiola managed to turn the tables on Pochettino last season however, when City beat Tottenham 4-1 at home and 3-1 away, en route to lifting the Premier League title in record breaking style.
Last season, Guardiola made headlines for referring to Spurs as ‘the Harry Kane team' – a label that angered both fans and manager Mauricio Pochettino. With Kane struggling to make an impact in the early stages of this year's campaign however, Spurs have proven that they are greater than the sum of their parts, by winning seven of their first nine league fixtures.
“They show me how wrong I was,” said Guardiola. “When you play against the contenders, it's almost six points, isn't it?
“These are important. I don't know what's happened in the past but it's true that the strong teams are making a lot of points, they are not dropping points easily.
“That's why maybe the games against the contenders are becoming so important. We've started with three games away against them. That's why it is so important to take those points.”
Man City are one of three Premier League teams to have gone undefeated since the start of the season (w/ Liverpool and Chelsea), and a win tonight would see them move to the top of the league table on goal difference. City lost just two games last season, and Guardiola is keen to maintain the superb work ethic that he has instilled in his players.
“The first year (he was in charge), we dropped a lot of points against contenders.” he added. “Except Anfield and United at home, we won everything in the second season.
“The reality is what we've done last year, you have to be focused on everyone.
“That we had 100 points is because we were focused on all the games.”
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