“You are wrong” — Pep Guardiola makes surprising Etihad Stadium claim

Pep Guardiola does not believe Manchester City have an air of invincibility at the Etihad Stadium, he revealed in a recent press conference.

The Premier League champions have a superb record on home soil in recent seasons, having not lost a game at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League since a 2018 loss to Ligue 1 side Lyon in the group stage.

The Blues made their home ground a fortress as they kicked on to win the treble at the back end of the 2022/23 season, dominating and winning big clashes against the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal on their way to collecting the three trophies.

But speaking in a recent press conference, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola delivered his verdict on whether or not City have become nearly invincible in home games.

“No,” Guardiola said frankly. “We have an incredible record in the Champions League, in the Premier League as well, but I don’t have that feeling.

“Maybe not having that feeling helps to maintain the situation. When you believe that just because of the stadium you are going to win the game, you are wrong.

“We were close to losing it, and against Liverpool it was 1-1, but yeah we feel comfortable.”

“That is the truth. We feel, ‘Ok we are here, we can do it, good momentums will come and we can generate, when the situation is bad the players make a step forward, maybe in that moment the supporters support us a little bit more’.

“‘If we want to be still close to Arsenal, to be at the top of the league, to be there’, and that happens to win games, and win games.”

Home cooking has not been as kind to Pep Guardiola in recent outings however, as his side failed to collect three points from winning positions in games against two straight home games against Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

The recent slip in form has seen Manchester City lose their spot at the summit of the Premier League, now three points behind league leaders Arsenal.