Pep Guardiola issued a reminder to Manchester City supporters to back their team after the reigning Premier League champions were booed off at half-time yesterday evening.
Tottenham Hotspur struck twice before the break to enter the break two goals to the good, resulting in some City supporters jeering as their players headed down the tunnel.
The hosts rallied in the second half, however, hitting back with four goals of their own to claim victory and move within five points of Arsenal.
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Unhappy with a lack of desire being shown by his players, Guardiola became rather animated in his post-match interview as he then took aim at City fans for not doing their bit on the evening. Asked if there is a lack of fire from both the playing squad and supporters after years of sustained success, the Catalan coach responded: "It is my duty, it is my job. I want my fans back, I want my fans in here. Not my away fans, my away fans are the best. But, my fans in here, we want support for every corner, their reaction and support.
"We cannot expect [to win] because Tottenham is one of the greatest opposition sides in how good they defend, how they are organised, how they make a build-up and how they link with Harry Kane, Kulusevski and Son. The threat they have in every single moment is incredible."
Pushed on his reaction to the half-time boos, Guardiola continued: "We played good. We might have been losing but we weren’t playing bad, we were playing very good. We had more chances, expected goals from Tottenham was 0.89, so we were better.
"They booed because we were losing, but maybe it’s the same for our team. Maybe we were so comfortable winning four Premier Leagues in five years and that’s why we you know, and after we score a goal they react, but that is not the point. [We need] passion and desire to win from minute one. It’s the same for our spectators, our fans. They are so silent for 45 minutes."
Making the point that Guardiola was within his rights to make such comments, comparing it to situation Liverpool experienced at the start of Jurgen Klopp's reign, Jamie Carragher commented: "Not many managers can get away with criticising their own supporters. Jurgen Klopp did it in his early time at Liverpool when a lot of supporters left before the end of a game. He’ll be fine. He’s not going to lose the supporters, he’s a god here to supporters and he’ll know that.
"I think he knows that if something doesn’t change here, they’re going to lose the league. He may feel that everyone else in this club, except him, thinks it’s not a big deal but he knows what it takes to win that league as he’s been there and been the main man; winning four titles in five years is almost taken for granted.
"This is a tough league to win, and he’s getting that message now. If City had lost tonight after Arsenal won on Sunday, I think the league would be over. There’s no way Man City get back looking at the way they’re playing compared to how Arsenal are playing, and I think he knows that. As he said, we keep playing like that and we’re going to lose points, and that’s a message to everyone around Manchester City: yes there’s a long way to go, but we need to change, and change quickly."
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