Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola picks out 'incredible' Newcastle United player for special praise after thrilling draw
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has praised Newcastle United custodian Nick Pope following the two teams' 3-3 draw.
The Cityzens visited St. James' Park for a highly-anticipated Premier League fixture on Sunday (August 21). Pope's brilliance in goal stood out in what was a thrilling game.
The Englishman ended the match with seven saves, four of which were inside the box, one punch, two high claims and eight accurate long balls (via Sofascore). His fantastic display in the second half kept Manchester City from reclaiming the lead, having leveled matters after falling behind 3-1.
Speaking after the match on City's official website, Guardiola reflected on the nail-biting encounter, saying (as quoted by HITC):
“It’s really good for us to live these kinds of experiences. I told them at half-time that we need to live this. We were 2-1 down, let’s see how we are as a team.”
It's really good for us to live these kind of experiences. I told them at half-time that we need to live this. We were 2-1 down, let’s see how we are as a team. We have to live these situations, that why the Premier League is so difficult.PEP 💬 It's really good for us to live these kind of experiences. I told them at half-time that we need to live this. We were 2-1 down, let’s see how we are as a team. We have to live these situations, that why the Premier League is so difficult.
The Spanish tactician praised Kieran Trippier for his brilliant free-kick early in the second half, which further increased Newcastle's lead:
“The second half started well but we conceded a brilliant goal (Kieran Trippier’s free-kick). We kick off after the third, we attacked and we showed that we were there.”
Guardiola concluded by lauding Pope, stating that England have an 'incredible' goalkeeper on their hands:
“We score two more goals and in general we create a lot of chances, one-on-ones against Pope. England has an incredible goalkeeper there.”
Manchester City and Newcastle play out match of the season so far at St. James' Park
The Premier League action on August 21 was initially headlined by Leeds United thrashing title hopefuls Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road. However, Manchester City and Newcastle United completely stole the show in the final match of the day.
Both teams entered the game having not conceded a single goal in their opening two league fixtures. However, Guardiola's men went ahead after just five minutes as Ilkay Gundogan slotted home from close range.
Newcastle, buoyed by a raucous St. James' Park crowd, responded in the 28th minute as Miguel Almiron bundled home Allan Saint-Maximin's teasing cross. Callum Wilson then put Eddie Howe's side ahead 10 minutes later to add to City's headaches.
The Magpies went a step further just nine minutes after half-time as Trippier scored a beauty of a free-kick after Saint-Maximin was fouled by John Stones. However, Manchester City, who are never ones to lay low, responded seven minutes later through Erling Haaland's venomous volley from close range.
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Kevin De Bruyne then slipped Bernardo Silva in with a defense-splitting pass and the Portuguese midfielder scored to haul the Cityzens level in the 64th minute. The visitors created plenty of chances thereafter, but some solid defending and Pope's brilliance in goal ensured Newcastle got a share of the spoils.