Pep Guardiola clashes with Kyle Walker’s response to “unacceptable” Man City slip-up

Pep Guardiola clashes with Kyle Walker’s response to “unacceptable” Man City slip-up

Despite Kyle Walker characterizing Manchester City’s performance as “unacceptable,” Pep Guardiola has asserted that they played a “really, really good game” against Nottingham Forest.

Manchester City was held to a 1-1 draw by Forest in the Premier League on Saturday, causing them to drop two crucial points.

If they had won, they would have regained their top spot in the league, which was taken by Arsenal following their dramatic 4-2 comeback victory over Aston Villa.

Although Bernardo Silva scored a goal for Guardiola’s team with a powerful shot from 20 yards, they missed several excellent opportunities to expand their lead, including when Erling Haaland hit the crossbar with a volley and missed the rebound after Aymeric Laporte’s header was saved by Keylor Navas.

In the 84th minute, Morgan Gibbs-White provided a cross for Chris Wood to score the equalizing goal, and as a result, Manchester City had to face the consequences of dropping two crucial points. Following the game, defender Kyle Walker expressed his frustration with his team’s inability to capitalize on their win against Arsenal on Wednesday.

“First and foremost we go to the Emirates and play the game we did and then come here, it’s unacceptable,” he said. “If we want to compete with teams near the top we need to win. We missed a few chances and we need to do better as a team.

“Sometimes it’s football and sometimes it’s emotion. Every game should be treated the same – like a cup final. What can I say other than it is unacceptable. We have to stick together as a group.

“The senior members of the team put our thoughts across. That is just not acceptable. We have to give credit to Nottingham Forest. They dug in and hung on. We have to do better.”

He added: “We know as lads that’s not acceptable. That’s not me being downbeat, but we’ve set such high standards over the last few years that it should be four or five nil, game done and we move onto the next game.”

It is noteworthy that the manager, Guardiola, had a contrasting perspective on the game. Despite Manchester City’s inability to capitalize on their dominance with 73% possession and 23 shots compared to Forest’s four, Guardiola still believed that they had played a good game.

“We did really, really good. It was a really, really good game,” Guardiola said. “We had amazing chances but it’s football. We have to score. We did everything. You have to do it. There were too many clear [chances] to score.

“It is one of the best games we have played but we drop two points. We should be more aggressive. There are many games still to play, we know it.”

Manchester City’s focus now shifts to the Champions League, where they are set to travel to east Germany to face RB Leipzig next Wednesday. They will then face Bournemouth in the Premier League on the weekend, before a fifth-round FA Cup tie against Bristol City.

Pep Guardiola clashes with Kyle Walker’s response to “unacceptable” Man City slip-up