Pep Guardiola claims ‘the old Man City’ are NOT back despite beating West Ham 4-1 – as Kevin De Bruyne calls for more support from fans
Pep Guardiola claimed Manchester City were well below par by beating West Ham 4-1, while Kevin De Bruyne strongly called for continued support from the club’s fans.
Erling Haaland scored twice and Savinho stole the show as the defending champions moved within two points of the top four for the first time since October with back-to-back wins.
But Guardiola was not satisfied and insisted there is a long way back before they reach the level of performance his team is known for.
“We have seen our level for years, but we are not at our level,” Guardiola said. ‘We won, I’m so happy and it helps us.
“But (the public) judges us on results; our performance was not good. When we play well, we know we play well.
‘You can’t ask me if the old Man City is back. If you’ve seen the game, that’s not us. You’ve seen what we’ve done to these opponents many times over the years.
Pep Guardiola has claimed Manchester City were well below par against West Ham despite winning 4-1
City have been in poor form in recent months and Guardiola put in a great performance on Saturday afternoon
Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, called for the continued support of the club’s fans
“We’re not on the same level, come on. It’s not like if we lose it’s a disaster and if we win it’s an incredible achievement.
‘We played much better against Everton (draw) than today. And when we sign it will be a major crisis, a disaster. No. If you ask me, the team is playing the way it has played in recent years: no, absolutely not.’
Guardiola added: ‘We are not passing the ball. That is why we suffer. We lose the ball too easily. We have to find our pace. We can’t run with the ball, we have to pass. Everyone wants to be fast, they want to win 4-0 after twenty minutes. No. Take your time. Relaxed.’
The Etihad Stadium went tense when Niclas Fullkrug scored with 19 minutes to go, and West Ham were guilty of missed chances afterwards.
De Bruyne – who also retained the captain’s armband after club skipper Kyle Walker came off the bench – seemed disappointed by the atmosphere.
“I don’t know why,” he said when asked about the nervousness. ‘I can understand that we are not at the level, but they have to support us because the effort is there and we are still winning 4-1.
‘I don’t understand what’s happening. The team gave maximum effort. The level must be higher, but we understand that.
‘We understand a little more what we’ve done over the last ten years and how difficult it is. We are currently slightly below that.’