Manchester City got back to winning ways on Monday, but victory over Burnley wasn’t as straightforward as some might have predicted.
Having benched Sergio Agüero from the start, Pep Guardiola saw his side reduced to ten men in the first half when Fernandinho was given a straight red – his third dismissal in his last six appearances – for a challenge on Johann Berg Gudmunsson.
Agüero came on for the second half and got on the scoresheet, doubling City’s lead after an opener from Gaël Clichy. The scoring wasn’t done though; Ben Mee pulled one back for the visitors with 20 minutes to go.
It might have been a little more tense than many had expected, but City did enough for the three points.
Still, judging by Guardiola’s manner during his post-match interview, he was far from content with things.
Very painful viewing https://t.co/hVIThQZNOS
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 2, 2017
It’s been a difficult few weeks for Guardiola, who enjoyed an impressive start to his career at City. Defeat at Anfield on New Year’s Eve was their fourth loss of the league campaign, and it seems the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has been in reflective mood recently.
In a recorded interview given to NBC Sports which was released on Monday, he even revealed that he was “approaching the end of his career.”
“I like to imagine the next step can be better,” Guardiola said of City’s progress under him. “If not, I will not be here.”
He went on to explain that he doesn’t see himself continuing as a manager beyond his fifties.
“In the moment, I will feel – and I am a little bit in that process – I feel that the end of my career, I will be… I will not be training at 60 and 65 years old, so…. No, no, no, no.”
Seeing as he’s still only 45, this isn’t a major concern for City supporters, but he appears to go on to suggest that his managerial career may still be coming to an end.
“Manchester City is three years or maybe longer, but I am still approaching the end of my career, like a manager. I am pretty sure of it.”
