Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola led his side to a vital victory on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, winning his first ever game over Chelsea on regular time after eight tries.
The Spanish tactician had looked into Chelsea’s biggest threaths very carefully ahead of the game, as he revealed after the match.
Guardiola had not only made defensive plans for the likes of Eden Hazard and Pedro, but also for Chelsea’s midfield maestro Cesc Fabregas, who the former Barcelona manager hailed as ‘the most special player in the world’ after the game.
“We knew that when Cesc has the ball, in one second he is the most special player in the world for that ball in behind. Chelsea want to play through the middle and attack with a lot of people. But we keep the ball as well as possible and regain possession as quickly as possible.
It’s not easy to do that, especially against players like [Eden] Hazard and Willian and Pedro, because one mistake and it is a goal. But it’s the way we play and feel football. So we are happy for that. It’s important to win. It’s three points we win and three points Chelsea didn’t win. We’ve won all the games in September and most playing really well and scoring goals.”
– Pep Guardiola, via Football.London
Fabregas was one of Chelsea’s most influential players last season, scoring five goals and assisting 12 more in 29 league appearances. He scored his opening goal of the season against Everton.
