Guardiola expresses dissatisfaction with Man City’s ‘uneventful’ victory against Salford.
Pep Guardiola described Manchester City’s straightforward FA Cup win over Salford City on Saturday as “boring”.
City defeated their League Two counterparts 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium, advancing to the fifth round.
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After benefiting from an early own goal by Alfie Dorrington, City maintained control before Marc Guéhi secured the win with his first goal for the club late in the match.
When asked if he was satisfied with the team’s performance, Guardiola responded: “No. We failed to identify the spaces where they were. The effectiveness in attack relies on their defensive setup, and we did not interpret it well.”
He continued: “That is why the match was dull. The only positive is that we progressed. That’s all.”
Guardiola implemented nine changes, taking the chance to rotate his squad.
With a rare full week to recuperate before resuming their Premier League title pursuit, the Spanish manager plans to grant his players a few days off.
However, he did not wish to attribute the lackluster performance to fatigue.
“It would be convenient for me to claim that we are mentally drained, that we are tired, as it has been a challenging two or three weeks for various reasons,” Guardiola stated.
“But it is our responsibility. The schedule dictates that we play every few days.
“We simply did not recognize where the spaces were, and everything felt flat and slow and not good.”
A positive aspect for City was the return of England defender John Stones, who made his first appearance in over two months following recovery from a thigh injury.
“He’s back. He still requires time; he is not yet the John Stones we remember, but his body language was very encouraging in terms of pressing and aggression,” Guardiola noted. “It was important that he played 65 minutes.”
Salford had suffered an 8-0 defeat to Man City in the same competition last season but could take pride in their resilient display.
Their focus now shifts back to their League Two promotion ambitions.
Manager Karl Robinson remarked: “I mentioned before the match that this football club has improved each year.
“We have invested significant effort behind the scenes and felt we arrived here today with a much stronger squad, as a better club.
“I believe the players demonstrated that, and it is about us leveraging this experience. Last year we could not utilize it, but we can use this as a standard to progress.
“I dislike losing, but it is something you must accept. I think the manner in which we lost today reflects well on the players.”
