Pep Guardiola says the mood around Manchester City is “better”, but he is still not convinced the reigning Premier League champions have regained their momentum.
City have won their last three matches, two in the league and Saturday’s 8-0 demolition of neighbors Salford City in the FA Cup, after emerging from a dismal run which saw them pick up just one win in 13.
They head to Brentford tomorrow night and Guardiola believes the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium will provide a good barometer of the team’s progress.
He said: “We won three games. Before, it was impossible to win one.
“Now we’ve won three, and that helps us. But the reality is we won against a team in the last game and for many reasons – the difference between the Premier League and League Two – we should win.
“We did it pretty well, but we still have to wait to see if we are who we are, but the atmosphere is better.
PEP 💬 Of course, we won three games. Before it was impossible to win one and now we have won three. It helps us… The atmosphere is better. We have an extremely difficult match [against Brentford]. Thomas [Frank] and his team always create a lot of problems. They are fantastic… pic.twitter.com/Uc02SWKDgx
-Manchester City (@ManCity) January 13, 2025
“Tomorrow we have an extremely difficult match. With what has happened over the last few seasons, this is still a team that creates a lot of problems. They were with Thomas for a very, very long time [Frank].
“They are a fantastic team but at the same time we know what we are playing for.”
No updates on Walker
The weekend’s triumph was overshadowed by the news that Kyle Walker had asked to leave City to continue his career abroad.
Both Milan clubs are believed to be leading the race for the England right-back, but Guardiola refused to comment on Walker’s future today, adding: “No, no news. I will decide [if he will be in the squad against Brentford] this afternoon, after training.
“I won’t add anything else. I have no news. It’s Brentford I’m worried about.
Injuries prompted transfer rethink, says Pep
City have reportedly agreed a fee with Lens for defender Abdukodir Khusanov, while Palmeiras’ teenage centre-half Vitor Reis and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush are also said to be targets.
Guardiola was unwilling to discuss transfer matters but admitted injuries could force them into the market.
“That’s what I want [players to return from injury]“, he said. “If that had happened, we wouldn’t have gone to the transfer window this season, absolutely not. And we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in. But we struggled all season.
“We had a lot of problems, especially in the back four and that’s still the case, and that’s the reason why the club is thinking about what we are going to do this transfer window or maybe this summer.
“From the start of the season it was at the back and in the middle. The positions in front of us are more or less good, but at the back we have had a lot of difficulty all season.
