Embargoed Section: Pep Guardiola’s post-Leeds press conference part two

It’s time for part two of Pep Guardiola’s post-Leeds United discussion with the media on Saturday evening.

Manchester City made hard work of their meeting with Sam Allardyce’s side in the end, despite a hugely positive and largely dominant first-half against the relegation-threatened Elland Road club.

A first-half brace from club captain Ilkay Gundogan set Manchester City on their way to yet another routine victory, but their failure to capitalise on a late penalty allowed for Leeds to strike their own goal and push for a late equaliser.

No such goal was to come, and City earned three points to remain top of the Premier League table for yet another gameweek, as Arsenal responded with a commanding 0-2 win against Newcastle United on Sunday evening.

In part two of Pep Guardiola’s post-Leeds press conference, the Manchester City boss discussed the impact of consecutive 90 minutes on Erling Haaland, comparisons with his previous Etihad squad, and the reasoning behind seven changes.

Here is every word from the embargoed section of Pep Guardiola’s post-Leeds press conference at the Etihad Stadium!

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On whether he planned for Erling Haaland to play 90 minutes for the fourth time in a row against Leeds

“He feels so strong right now.”

On how he would describe Erling Haaland’s general fitness

“The people say he has milk, or something, drinks something like that. (He calls it a ‘magic potion’) Yeah the people say that, but I drink also this magic potion and I don’t score 50 goals. That’s for sure. I would recommend to little boys who want to emulate Erling to try to emulate skills than in drinks.”

On whether there have been any players other than Ilkay Gundogan who have picked up what he wants them to do so quickly

“I remember one season when we won maybe the second Premier League (title) that we won here, Fernandinho was injured for a long time and he (Ilkay Gundogan) played as a holding midfielder in games like for example Burnley away, with long balls, second balls – and he played (perfectly).

“In that feeling I said without him we are not able to win the Premier League. He’s so intelligent, Gundo. So clever, so intelligent, so competitive, under pressure he handles it without a problem. He’s one of the best players I ever trained in my career as a whole package. He’s top class.”

On whether there was anything seen against Leeds that he wants to change before Tuesday vs Real Madrid

“No. I would love to play on Tuesday the way we played today, honestly. We played really, really good. They play four in the back plus two in the pockets so it’s six in the back. They play a back six. So you have to read where are the spaces. How good Riyad (Mahrez) read where are the men free, and in the right moment to attack.

“Maybe we miss the last pass, Erling had – as he does every single game – two, three, four chances to score. Today he didn’t score but it doesn’t matter, Erling played an exceptional game today. All of them. Ah you have the feeling at the end in the last minutes blah blah… yeah it can happen. With 2-0, always it’s open. 2-1 and after it can happen. But before, until that situation, the game was really good.”

On making seven changes for Leeds

“I want to be honest with you; so I didn’t rotate the team because I was thinking of Madrid. I rotated the team because I felt in the team that some players were, asked me, ‘I’m so tired’. And for the third people there tell me, ‘These guys are so tired’. That’s why I did it. I take seriously the Premier League. So, so seriously.

“In October, November, December you can drop points. But now, if you drop points, the damage is huge. So that’s why I’m not going to drop, or I would be naive to prioritise whatever. The Champions League is another type of competition. We know we have to perform well and we’re going to do the first-leg as best as possible to try and do a good game.”

On if a player says he’s tired, whether that’s the end of the conversation

“No normally they don’t come to me, they come to people close to me, and start to say, ‘Does Pep think I should play this game?’ or something like that. And I get it. It’s normal, it’s a lot of games guys. It’s not the physicality, it’s also here in the (mind). Eddie I saw him tired before the previous game, West Ham. Really tired. His decisions were not good. It’s a lot of games.

“And that’s why we have almost everyone fit, and today was nice because the guys who didn’t play lately, they played really well, and they helped us because it’s going to happen between Madrid you have Goodison Park, and after we have Chelsea here, and we have the last two games against Brighton and Brentford.”

On 20 games unbeaten and whether there are traits in previous teams

“Yeah quite similar. The mindset of the teams it’s there. Two months ago, or three months ago, we said you have to win, win, and win. And they did it again, because 10 games (won) in a row at this stage (in the Premier League) is nice. That helps us to be in the position that we are. At the end if Arsenal win tomorrow, it’s just one point in front. It’s not because we have an incredible margin to take a coffee. We have to still focus to do it.

“The moment we beat Arsenal, now the destiny is in our hands, and we have done it at Fulham, we have done it against West Ham, we have done it today. This is what is important. If tomorrow Newcastle happens, of course it’s better but at the end it’s in our hands. After Madrid we have five days to recover well, take a bus, one hour and 50 minutes to go to Goodison Park and win the game. And every time we win we are closer to do something exceptional.

“That’s why we are not going to drop because we don’t want it. We have to be serious. What we have to do, we have to do it. And after, if the opponent is better… I’m not talking about penalty score or not score. Being there, it’s so difficult being there. You take, good mentality, if you score or don’t score, ok next one. But who is the best taker? It’s Erling, no? And Riyad. They have to take it. At 2-0, you have to take it. At 4-0, if they want I can kick it. I can take it if they want. But if it’s 2-0, I’m not going to take it. That’s for sure.”