Pep Guardiola admits he's surprised by Manchester City topping Premier League table ahead of international break
Pep Guardiola has admitted that he did not expect Manchester City to go into the international break at the top of the Premier League table. His comments came after his team's 4-4 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Sky Sports (via Metro) in his post-match interview, Guardiola revealed he was pessimistic about City's chances of leading the pack after their defeat to Arsenal in October.
"It is important that we go into the international break top of the league, I couldn’t expect it after the Arsenal game when we lost."
Pep Guardiola also gave Chelsea their flowers after their combative performance to come from a goal down three times to end up with a 4-4 draw against Manchester City. The Spaniard also mentioned how rivals Arsenal and Liverpool could not get results against the Blues.
"Chelsea are so dangerous, they are a really, really good team. Liverpool could not win, Arsenal... They were much, much better than Arsenal and then Arsenal drew at the end."
Pep Guardiola also spoke about the competitive nature of Chelsea as a club and how they would bounce back from their current dip to fight for silverware again.
"It’s getting better, the teams they play they play good. They have physicality, they have talent, they have speed, they have bench, they have a lot of things.
"So Chelsea have built what they have done and decided to do for the next few years to be there, they always have been."
The result keeps Manchester City at the top with a one point lead over Liverpool and Arsenal on 27 points, while Chelsea have moved up into the top half of the table with 16 points in 10th place.
Mauricio Pochettino snubs Pep Guardiola at full-time to rage at match officials
Chelsea and Manchester City played out an enthralling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in a game that saw three lead changes. There were multiple heated moments throughout the contest as both teams competed hard for the win.
The heat of the game got to Blues manager Pochettino, who was upset with referee Anthony Taylor for blowing the full-time whistle while his team were on the offensive.
As per Simon Bajkowski of Manchester Evening News, the Argentine was upset with the officials and ignored the customary post-match handshakes with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City's staff.
Instead, Pochettino stormed onto the pitch to confront Anthony Taylor and also received a yellow card in the process.
Despite the heated ending to the contest, Mauricio Pochettino will be content with the week his team has had.