Guardiola: "This is a huge victory for us."

2026-03-01 04:08

In the 28th round of the 2025-26 Premier League season, Manchester City narrowly defeated the in-form Leeds United 1-0 away from home thanks to a first-half goal from Antoine Semenyo.

After the match, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola highly praised his team's performance, believing that securing all three points was crucial given the opponent's strong resurgence. Facing a Leeds United side in excellent form for the past three months, Manchester City encountered extremely high-intensity pressing from the home team in the opening stages.

In a post-match interview, Guardiola stated frankly: "For us, this is a huge victory. My view on this game is that they started very well, but encountering this situation here was entirely within our expectations. Leeds United plays at a very high intensity."

Speaking about the goal that broke the deadlock, Guardiola pointed out the key turning point when the opponent's stamina dropped: "When they were tired in the last 15 to 20 minutes, our intentions became clearer, trying to break through by constantly passing the ball, and we did it just before the end of the first half."

Guardiola was also impressed by Manchester City's defensive tenacity in this match. Although the team struggled at times in dealing with the second ball of long passes, he praised the team's focus: "Usually we drop out in the second half, but that didn't happen today."

“We showed incredible focus. We didn’t create many chances, but we didn’t give our opponents any openings either. The game was a little tough, but our defense was really excellent.”

This narrow 1-0 victory not only demonstrated Manchester City's tactical prowess under pressure, but also proved their tenacious defensive foundation once again.

Image source: Internet