City can 'close the circle' with Club World Cup - Guardiola

Posted Tuesday, December 19, 2023 by ESPN

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- Pep Guardiola has challenged his Manchester City players to "close a little circle" and win a clean sweep of trophies under his management with the Club World Cup.

City have won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and the Community Shield since Guardiola took over as manager in 2016.

The only one missing is the Club World Cup, which they can win in Saudi Arabia this week.

City start with a semifinal against Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Tuesday before a potential final on Friday.

"We want to win it," Guardiola said in a news conference on Monday.

"It's a trophy we don't have. It's a chance to close a little circle, to win all we could do. Maybe we don't have another chance, maybe yes. In the Premier League, we always have a game in the next three days. It's difficult to be here. The players know it and we'll try to perform well."

City have arrived in Saudi Arabia on the back of a disappointing run of just three wins from their last eight games in all competitions.

The 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday left Guardiola's team fourth in the table, five points behind leaders Arsenal, but the Club World Cup allows them the chance to forget about the Premier League for a week and get away from Manchester's winter weather.

Kevin De Bruyne, who hasn't played since the opening weekend of the season because of a hamstring injury, trained with the team on Monday evening but Erling Haaland was absent as he continues his recovery from a foot problem.

"The weather is a dream," Guardiola said.

"Having it in December, we're not used to it where we live in the UK. The weather is really good.

"It's a different competition. When we come back to the UK to play Everton it'll be completely different. We'd prefer better results but except for Villa the performance was excellent."

This year's Club World Cup will be the last of its kind before an expanded version of the tournament begins in 2025 in the United States. The new version will include 32 clubs -- City have already qualified along with Premier League rivals Chelsea -- and the winning team will play seven games.

"I think FIFA took a decision and all the clubs support that decision," Guardiola said.

"I am part of the clubs. I am not against new competitions. I am against the lack of time to recover between years. This is what I'm complaining about. For me it doesn't matter to play every three days, six days, seven days, it is okay.

"But it is really, really tough to finish the season and in three weeks you have to restart again."

Meanwhile, City have been fined £120,000 after their players surrounded referee Simon Hooper during the 3-3 draw with Tottenham following his decision not to allow an advantage when Jack Grealish appeared to be through on goal in the final minutes.

An FA statement issued on Monday read: "Manchester City FC admitted that they failed to ensure their players did not behave in an improper way during the 94th minute."