Guardiola tells City players to chill as pressure mount on Arsenal

The sight of a beaming Pep Guardiola pumping his fists to all sides of Etihad Stadium then telling his players to indulge in cocktails demonstrated the magnitude of this Manchester City victory.

On a night of nerves and tension, City overcame Newcastle United to secure a 2-1 win that sent a loud and ominous message: “Over to you, Arsenal.”

Guardiola was so satisfied with the win that he announced his players could have three days off, telling them to “enjoy life” with “caipirinhas and daiquiris”.

Whether they take his advice literally remains to be seen, but the celebrations were significant in the afterglow of victory.

City’s win leaves them only two points behind the Gunners, who showed signs of creaking under pressure as they cast aside a two-goal lead to draw with relegation certainties Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek.

And Guardiola’s animated, emotional reaction at the final whistle on Saturday was mirrored around the stadium on a night when he said: “The connection we had with our fans was the best of the season. We had the best vibes and we need those vibes between now and the end of the season.

“It wasn’t the ideal game, but we were a team and this is what we have to do at this stage of the season.”

This may not be the same City side, when it comes to personnel, that made a habit of stringing together unstoppable sequences of results to break the hearts of Liverpool and Arsenal in title races of the past.

City still, however, have the manager and winner in Guardiola who knows how to navigate the course and distance – and this win has cranked up the pressure on Arsenal ahead of the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Source: BBC Sports