Guardiola admits luck in European Super Cup
"They are a very good team, causing many difficulties for us," coach Guardiola appreciated Sevilla after the match at Karaiskakis, Piraeus. "The first 10 minutes of the second half were very bad for Man City. We were eager to equalize and push forward, so that they had two clear chances from En-Nesyri and Ocampos. If Sevilla finished successfully, the game would probably be decided. win".
In the European Super Cup match on August 16, Man City kept the ball more, but Sevilla opened the scoring in the 25th minute from a classic attack situation. Left-back Marcos Acuna crosses in for center forward Youssef En-Nesyri to bounce high and head to the left post, leaving goalkeeper Ederson Moraes to stand still and watch the ball fly into the net.
En-Nesyri and Lucas Ocampos also missed favorable opportunities in the second half and Sevilla paid the price not long after. From a cross from Rodri on the left, 21-year-old midfielder Cole Palmer dived into the second post and headed the ball to the far corner to equalize for Man City. After 90 minutes of a 1-1 draw, the two teams entered a penalty shootout. While all five City players kicked in, Sevilla's fifth shot, midfielder Nemanja Gudelj, bounced off the crossbar, causing the Europa League champions to lose 4-5.
"After they missed, we found the rhythm we needed and scored," added Guardiola. "A few days ago we lost to Arsenal on penalties, but today everything is different."
Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar shares the same opinion with Guardiola. He regretted that En-Nesyri and Ocampos missed the opportunity to increase the gap. "Confronted with the strongest team in the world, we played well and created many opportunities from the counter-attack," the Spaniard shared. "But we couldn't hit the finishing blow. If the difference was two goals, everything would be different."
Without many pillars like Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva or Ruben Dias, Man City still controlled the ball up to 74% and finished 23 times. Coach Guardiola thought his team deservedly won, when in control of the game and only lost rhythm in the first 10 minutes of the second half. On the club's homepage, he praised goalkeeper Ederson with saves that helped Man City escape a two-goal lead and have a chance to return. "I remember in a lot of finals the goalkeeper was the best," he said.
Pep Guardiola is the first manager in history to win the European Super Cup with three different clubs, including Barcelona (twice), Bayern Munich and Man City. He and his students did not have much time to celebrate because they had to prepare for the match against Newcastle in the second round of the Premier League on the evening of August 19.
