Riyad Mahrez shows Pep Guardiola his ‘grumpy’ side amid Manchester City game time reductions

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that Riyad Mahrez makes him aware of how ‘grumpy’ he is when he doesn’t feature in his starting line-ups.

The 32 year-old starred in City’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Sheffield United at the weekend, scoring a hat-trick to send his side in to a showpiece final against Manchester United following the conclusion of the ongoing Premier League season.

However, despite a sensational winter period and start to 2023, Riyad Mahrez’s game time has seen a significant reduction as Pep Guardiola opts to utilise the likes of Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva in the wide-right position.

From the player’s perspective, his treble of goals against the Championship high-flyers may have perhaps come at the perfect time, given Manchester City’s mammoth Premier League contest against Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Speaking after the 3-0 win over Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening, Guardiola told the media that he is aware of just how ‘grumpy’ his Algerian star is at his decreased game time in recent weeks.

The Catalan coach explained while half joking on the situation, “He’s grumpy with me when he doesn’t play, all the time. He makes me notice when he’s grumpy… So happy for Riyad, he loves to play football, he’s given so much for this club and hopefully in the future.

Guardiola continued by stating, “(He’s) not a guy who comes in asking how long he has to be there and then goes home, it’s the opposite… I know I lost the battle to make him understand how important he is to the group.”

When quizzed further on what he meant by his closing sentence, the Manchester City manager explained, “Always I try to convince Riyad that he can help us through many ways, but he’s always just happy when he plays.

“And there are players who can accept it. Riyad wants to play all the time because he loves to play football. But sometimes I decide, sometimes a little bit serious, but what’s important is (when) he plays, always he is there.

“This is the most important thing, it doesn’t matter what happens. What matters is when you have to perform, you perform to the level he is and this is the most important thing.”

Manchester City take on Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday night, knowing that a victory would take them to within just two points of the current league leaders, with a game in hand and a far superior goal difference on their title challengers.