Unable to secure a win over Everton in the recent encounter, Pep Guardiola is ready to unleash more firepower in attack to make up for valuable lost ground as they lag behind Arsenal.
The Spaniard is apparently ready to play two up top in his attacking formation after his Manchester City side dropped more points in the title race after drawing with Everton in the New Year’s Eve draw at the Etihad. This was followed hours later by a Gunners at Brighton, further reendorsing their lead ahead of the League table with a comfortable 7-point margin.
With their focus still on a hat-trick of league titles, City have now dropped precious points in five of their 18 games this term. Despite the introduction of Erling Haaland having given them a new dynamic, the Norwegian wasn’t able to provide a winner for their clash against the Toffees. This has now resulted in Guardiola considering playing with even more firepower up front.
When queried on Julian Alvarez’s late introduction, the Catalonian said: “In the last minutes, at 1-1, we needed people in the box. That is why he played. But in the end he rested one week, 10 days – it’s not much after the World Cup final.”
Guardiola was candid in admitting that a two-man attack is now something he’s pondered going forward: “Yeah it can happen. The ball arrives there, and you have two strikers that are going to score goals. But to create these chances, you have to make the process, and sometimes you need other types of players to create these chances. But of course they can play together, especially against five at the back.”
City’s draw with the Toffees was certainly unexpected and a damper on their progress as Arsenal have only failed to win two of their 17 games this term and Guardiola knows his side do not have the luxury of letting points slip away.
“Of course the result was not expected but that is football, it is not the first time it happened,” he claimed. “We did everything to win. They played really well. Afterwards they broke a bit the rhythm because the referees were not ready but, in general, we did everything and unfortunately could not win.”