0:08

You're. Listening to the Sky Sports Football

0:10

podcast that just the City world the

0:12

South Coast on Thursday evening to take

0:14

old Brighton. Here's. How we saw

0:16

things when the final whistle blew at

0:18

the Amex Stadium. Just

0:23

Shudder extends ever closer to

0:25

the Leaders arsenal. A

0:27

point behind. Now with one extra game

0:30

to play whole the magic number their

0:32

relentless pursuit of an unprecedented leads on

0:34

in a row cents on my way

0:36

by the first of all gold step

0:39

into pro to wear their head on

0:41

ha by a couple from fill photo

0:43

the person you're bringing the second after

0:46

an era when bright and try to

0:48

play out from the back and then

0:50

the second all up. It was rounded

0:53

off by the quick reactions of boolean

0:55

Alvarez have to co. Worker had

0:57

made a bring forward Brighton Have

0:59

no answers at all. Manchester City

1:02

Mahjong trying to nail Manchester City

1:04

for pressure. What pressure grinds biggest?

1:06

How different the season? Manchester City's

1:09

biggest away when in the Premier

1:11

League for two years scale. Cliched

1:13

former on a tight winning with

1:16

my Just City and as though

1:18

they may look so easy. Yeah,

1:21

unfortunately this is the game for

1:23

then You know it seems that

1:25

will play. Out from the bug will

1:27

be exposed when the new the ball we've seen

1:30

it again. I'm coming back to these will use

1:32

in Madrid A few days ago decided to go

1:34

ten and the back and think transition is not

1:36

for nothing you know cities a special team. Them

1:39

Go special players and with this

1:41

combination you can go really far

1:43

and that done so far so

1:45

good for nights. Jamie Redknapp he's

1:48

out a message to Arsenal and

1:50

Liverpool. Yeah, absolutely. They come alive

1:52

this time this season. They love

1:54

it, they embrace it and look.

1:56

Forward. To it a lot same as

1:58

made me to find it. They get

2:00

a coincidence cel don't want because I want to

2:02

take that fresh as is. Highly. Doubt

2:06

political agenda he felt that basis sister

2:08

Susan with the way the prices I've

2:10

ever seen in for them to win

2:13

for the kind of game you know

2:15

and you have a city when you

2:17

decide to play. On

2:20

a physician if you're on. The players

2:22

are doing something with Madrid other from

2:24

issue slice and play. they. Don't

2:27

seem anything that an athlete and so fun I

2:29

was that. Was had to pay

2:31

for play on again. City on doesn't

2:33

apply to them on one hand. on

2:36

my thoughts on the from this and

2:38

we have the reserve has my. What

2:42

a collection of talent he has

2:45

no foden the fifty mark in

2:47

for many goals. tenderloin it with

2:49

his first have a tile. Versa

2:51

surfaced in the family for the

2:54

for some reason ninety sign of

2:56

that kind of night. the Manchester

2:58

City's now Nichols's one points behind

3:01

the leaders Ah So Bright and

3:03

Zalmay in eleventh place. still hoping

3:05

for a third successive top half.

3:08

Finished realize now on the big

3:10

occasion on Sunday. Brilliant

3:47

performance from Manchester City. He returned to

3:49

Premier league action after twelve say absence

3:51

and they hit the ground running yet

3:54

again. Delighted to say that to the

3:56

stars the show Kevin De Bruin or

3:58

Infill phone and both. Join

4:00

us Live! Congratulations guy! That was

4:02

a a fantastic when fantastic performance

4:05

tevin. it feels like to asa

4:07

a really big statements as it

4:10

feels you. I'm.

4:13

Yeah was good game at agree. We played

4:15

really well in the first half and on

4:18

on about statement service li every every game

4:20

as a as a lot of pressure but

4:22

the only thing that we can do is

4:24

try to perform as well as we did

4:27

today and will win the game A had

4:29

some that's what we have done. Three.

4:31

To laugh at half time? Fill up the

4:34

game plan on me. Say collects from the

4:36

start. Can you tell us a few details

4:38

about what that was against? This Brian same

4:40

who really loves to play out from the

4:42

back. At offices

4:44

are very challenging see the lights go

4:46

months I'm on the play beautiful football.

4:49

And buffer with cats first goal of a battle.

4:52

A few of my second goal cel does of

4:54

the other and never grew into the gave him

4:56

with it we found my the space or than

4:58

the fall. And in the first thought

5:00

was frightened with the way we thought so

5:02

So yeah. Congratulations.

5:05

Guys are cavities. Jamie Redknapp here while

5:07

Cp Scott free kicks top corner right

5:09

foot less for I didn't see Gabi

5:12

Cd scored a fifteen yard head off

5:14

so cause for it my it was

5:16

that Robin Van Persie esque. As

5:20

doesn't happen to two months doesn't that

5:22

the other know cause give a good

5:24

curls or nothing to defend the just

5:26

one or two two headed and i

5:28

think the only way i could reach

5:30

his was was jumping through the ball

5:32

under nervously is slightly acidic goes. In

5:34

like a little Love so I'll say

5:36

Kippur as not obviously something that I'm

5:39

really good us. Where. You

5:41

look good am I am. I was a perfect

5:43

perfect had our fill. Also to talk about your

5:45

full might not end up the big deal with

5:47

see somebody. People talk about the form that your

5:49

rain and how well we apply that to ship

5:51

onto a tightly packed sort of up a couple

5:54

years ago when you would think it was before

5:56

them with the woke up when you are asked

5:58

what position you play you said. That show Mayfield,

6:00

you said. I like supply in that area. Now

6:02

when I what's your B C got so much

6:05

freedom and it just fills that you'll find that

6:07

lovely balance between playing off the wide and com

6:09

in centrally and announce his going to be a

6:11

real clamor for you to be played in those

6:13

positions in the summer for England as well. Is

6:16

that what you really light sir to operate. Their.

6:19

Like a set of always said that see

6:21

myself centralists different this his own you know

6:24

what need more insides and it's helped my

6:26

game com and massively you know of simply

6:28

when the best place in the world like

6:31

have definite house mccain it's we are enjoy

6:33

in the middle this way swear a wanna

6:35

be around you know after that and score

6:37

goals and now and and curry things and

6:40

had among understand during the football and plane

6:42

were treated. Kevin. Reggie Think

6:44

fills that is our most dangerous,

6:46

most effective. Lot

6:49

think you you will end up centrally. Of

6:52

always says soulful from the beginning and he

6:54

was always a number turn on the nervously.

6:57

You. Know, I think it's sometimes hard to understand

6:59

everything you need to do and the in

7:01

a pub team and the other think it

7:03

was necessarily the offensive in the beginning when

7:06

you're young but small, the the structure of

7:08

it and I think of the when you're

7:10

probably get a bit more freedom. Bad thing

7:12

now he still gets trusted to play centrally.

7:15

By even today with him. play with any

7:17

wing is so we blow both played a

7:19

little bit centrally and then had to go

7:21

in the wings sometimes so. You. Know

7:23

Phil does what he does for about

7:25

six seven years already and it's not

7:27

like he just come onto the scene.

7:30

Has been doing this for years as

7:32

Altos win titles on the issue and

7:34

opera another level. And. So

7:36

how much do you are reveling in

7:38

seeing? tap into Boehner Alongside he was

7:40

an example to learn from. their

7:43

like a said the offing when his i

7:46

is the best player in a permanent so

7:48

to betray him with him and midfield the

7:50

health my game and the overseas passes thought

7:52

of as don't so sometimes it off the

7:54

run into the space and is gonna find

7:56

yourself to a nice and on plane inside

7:59

with allowance health I can keep playing with

8:01

him because you know it's good for the

8:03

team and Yeah, I'm just gonna

8:05

win game by game and see we can get

8:07

to the title. So so yeah guys,

8:11

congratulations feel you're my man of the match

8:13

I know I know you you don't really care but the

8:15

question is gonna go to Kevin Kevin I'm gonna take you

8:17

back to when you first arrived you

8:20

were already so impressive but it

8:22

just seems that you're getting better year after year

8:24

and I would like to

8:26

know how it feels to play under pay

8:28

because it seems that it gives you that

8:30

space and you find yourself in Those area

8:32

where you are the most effective and when

8:35

we look at you, you just make the

8:37

game look so easy So I just want

8:39

to have your inside about how it is to

8:41

play on the path We all know how great of a

8:43

manager it is But you just seem to get better and

8:45

better and better and it's so impressive

8:49

Well, I don't know I think obviously, you

8:51

know gail when you when pepper arrived There

8:54

was a lot of information coming at us

8:56

and there was a lot of meetings and a lot

8:59

of tactical training sessions But I guess now

9:01

we do less and I think I

9:03

understand what what what

9:06

pepper wants and you know,

9:08

I think he also understands what

9:10

I'm what I'm good at and you

9:12

know What are my weaknesses and you

9:14

know, there's been moments. I play more deeper,

9:16

you know in 1718 but

9:19

now he prefers me to press more from

9:21

the front with with hooli today or Erling

9:23

and You know, I

9:25

just try to do the job that I need to do

9:29

I try to find space in

9:31

pockets and give me a little fraction of

9:33

time so I can help my teammates Score

9:38

as much goals as possible and you know

9:40

This team helps me to get these spaces

9:42

and you know, if you play with good

9:44

players I need to

9:47

do the rest another title is in your

9:49

sights guys final thoughts five games to go Phil.

9:51

How do you see it? Yeah,

9:55

we just don't get ahead of ourselves I think we just

9:57

need to take it game by game, you

9:59

know now massive turnaround before the next

10:01

game. It's coming quickly, so try

10:04

and recover now and get ready to go again.

10:06

Jabin, are you confident? Well,

10:10

I trust my team. Obviously, all respect

10:12

to Arsenal and Liverpool because they're amazing.

10:15

I know Liverpool dropped points yesterday, but

10:17

Arsenal are doing what they need to

10:19

do. So we also need to do

10:21

our job and try

10:24

and perform well against Nottingham and

10:26

win that game and we

10:28

just need to keep going and we

10:30

know that. But don't get ahead of

10:32

yourself, work hard and be humble enough

10:35

to perform at your best. Well,

10:37

congratulations. You've both been really generous with your time.

10:40

Kevin, you have a little duty to do for

10:42

us because, as Gail said, Phil is the player

10:44

of the match. Congratulations. He's

10:46

got 20 this season, so I'm going to have to

10:48

run down. You should get one for the header, Kevin.

10:52

Thank you very much. Thank

10:54

you, guys. Thank you. Have a

10:56

good evening. Gail,

10:59

you've been there. You've done it yourself. Is Kevin right? You

11:01

don't get ahead of yourself. Is that the key to it?

11:03

Yeah, of course. There's

11:05

going to be teams dropping points, but again,

11:07

what's important for me is that CT has

11:09

so much in control of all the opponents

11:11

they're playing against. So obviously, in 80 minutes,

11:14

90 minutes, you will lose points, you will

11:16

drop points, you will lose games, but overall,

11:18

the way they've been performing this year and

11:20

the year before is just impressive. So they

11:22

have to be confident. I was

11:24

thinking, Jamie, it's like talking to the master and the apprentice,

11:26

but it's not really anymore, is it? No. It's

11:29

the master and the master. The master and the master. A couple of

11:31

geniuses. I was thinking, actually, you probably couldn't get the ball up in

11:33

that little area. They were. They're that good. And

11:35

it just... You

11:38

know, with Phil Foden, what he's doing right now

11:40

is just amazing to watch. You know, when he

11:42

picks that ball up on his left foot and

11:44

he dribbles, he's so elusive, he can't get near

11:46

him. He's always got a picture in his mind

11:48

before the balls come to him. Kevin De Bruyne,

11:50

for me, and we've seen some greats, you know,

11:52

he's things like Gerard, Lampard,

11:54

David Silva, Yaya Torre, unbelievable

11:56

midfield players, attacking ones, that

11:58

is. he's the top one for

12:01

me. He's the top one. I just

12:03

think he does things just out

12:05

of this world. And why I

12:07

say that is the passes that he has

12:09

seen throughout his career and since he's come

12:11

to the Premier League, there's not many that

12:13

just can do that. You can score all

12:15

types of goals. I didn't expect diving headers,

12:18

but I'm in awe of him every time I watch

12:20

him. And also you need good role models. I've often

12:22

spoken about this as a player and growing up when

12:24

the people, when I think about my career and I'm

12:26

sure Gail had the same thing. It's

12:29

great for Phil Foden to every day see

12:31

the likes of Kevin De Bruyne on the training pitch,

12:33

the way he touches the ball. And I bet the

12:35

first couple of years he spent watching him, how he

12:37

did his boots up, everything. Just trying to learn, just

12:39

trying to take something from one of

12:41

the geniuses in this game. And there's no doubt,

12:44

that's why Phil Foden has produced the performances he

12:46

has because he's seen great role models. And to

12:48

be a great team, you have to have good

12:50

senior players because he obviously learned a lot from

12:52

probably watching David Silva. And now you look at

12:54

this team and Phil Foden was obviously heavily involved

12:57

in the first goal. And when I talk about

12:59

pitches, I just want you to, I'm going to

13:01

try and slow this down. This is for young

13:03

players. Actually, if you watch it, you should be

13:05

in bed. But I'll watch it

13:07

tomorrow. Just keep your

13:10

eye on Phil Foden here. So

13:12

already, just a touch. Here

13:15

he is there. He's in a nice position. Oh,

13:19

hold on one second. Sorry, I'll do that again.

13:22

There he is there. Is that better? Oh, no,

13:24

he's playing up. You know what he looks

13:26

like. He's got, you know, he's in a

13:28

lovely position. But just watch before that ball

13:30

comes into him, how many times he's scanning,

13:32

he's checking his shoulder. He's already seen the

13:34

picture of what can happen, where the press

13:36

might come from. Just keep your eye on

13:38

him. It's really fascinating. Look, there's one, two,

13:43

three, four, and

13:46

one last one before the end, five. Five

13:48

times he's checked his shoulder to realise he

13:50

can now turn, and then he's off. And

13:53

then obviously, he needs really good movement. And

13:55

Karl Walker, does it work this time? Yes,

13:57

Karl Walker is now on the run. Can

14:00

he slide the ball in? Can he find the right

14:02

pass? Obviously the rest is history.

14:04

There's obviously the goal scorer. It's

14:07

a really good play. Kevin the boy finds

14:09

himself in a position that he doesn't really

14:11

know what he's going to do. I'm not

14:13

expecting to throw a volley, but this is

14:15

an incredible header. I mentioned Van Persie, it's

14:17

a little bit like that, isn't it? I

14:19

really like the fact that you mentioned the

14:21

scanning of Phil, because this is

14:23

the whole difference between good players and top

14:25

players. I would say that maybe

14:27

Kevin is free there, because Alan is not on

14:29

the pitch. When you have

14:32

someone like Alan, the game is a bit more fixed, the

14:34

defender will be focused on him. He's

14:37

got a little bit of freedom because

14:39

nobody expects Kevin to score that kind of goal. I think

14:41

that's a great point. I'm just going to stop it there.

14:43

What you're saying, because Karl Walker now,

14:45

as we see him on the run, his first thing was

14:47

where's Harland? But because, obviously,

14:49

Alverez is a different profile, there's no point putting a

14:51

high ball in, and he decides to make the comeback.

14:54

That's often the debate we have when Alan is playing.

14:56

Are we saying then, Gail, that Manchester City are a

14:58

more effective side without Harland in it? No,

15:00

because we're talking about a team and a

15:03

player that... Don't put work in the air.

15:05

We're talking about a player and a team

15:07

who just achieved a treble season and scored

15:10

as many goals as we know. What we're saying is

15:12

that on that night and on

15:14

that goal, having Harland perhaps

15:16

on the second post between

15:18

the right centre-back and the right-back

15:21

will attract defenders and will

15:23

kind of tempt Karl

15:25

Walker to leave that ball on the second post because this

15:27

is what we want from him. Not

15:29

having him there allows space for other

15:31

players. And Kevin is actually free in the box,

15:33

which you don't really see at

15:35

elite football. And you'd expect Kevin to score

15:37

that goal. The truth is, though, Gail, you'd

15:40

say the chances of him scoring that header, you'd probably say,

15:42

okay, well, if that ball comes in, he won't score, but

15:44

it just shows you he has the full repertoire. I'm sure

15:46

Phil Fone's lucky. He's been dreaming of

15:48

this 50th Premier League goal. This probably wasn't

15:50

the goal that he was dreaming of. And

15:52

Brighton have all. Absolutely. But Brighton

15:54

might be saying, well, they

15:56

shouldn't be getting a free kick for that. It's a slip, isn't it, Jamie?

15:59

I'll make that a bit easier for you. Oh yeah, this is quite nice.

16:02

Look, he slips, there's absolutely no, it's not a foul. There's

16:05

no real, it gets a little bit of an arm there,

16:07

but you can see him, he's already going under. He

16:10

slips, and it's just one of those really. Sometimes

16:12

you get those free kicks, sometimes you don't, but

16:14

you also get a bit of luck with his

16:16

free kick as well, girls. Yeah, and I would

16:18

say the point to mention there is that he's

16:21

taking the free kick over Kevin De Bruyne.

16:23

So obviously, yes, the position is for a

16:26

left-footed guy, but we're talking about a very

16:28

young lad, and we're talking about one

16:30

of the four best midfielder that we ever

16:32

seen in a Premier League. So he's taking

16:34

it, shows how much trust the club, the

16:37

teammates, and the player has within himself to go

16:40

and take that free kick and score his goal.

16:42

Have a closer look at this third goal for

16:44

this guy. Yeah, this is good. and

16:46

I want to just go for it, because this is

16:49

the risk reward that we often speak about with Brighton,

16:51

and the positions they get under. What

16:53

would you like to pick out here, girls? I

16:55

would say that for me, the whole play,

16:59

if you like, I will stop it right

17:03

here. If you like

17:05

that kind of football, I think this is

17:07

a perfect play. Why? Because we're

17:09

talking about Phil Foden just before and the scanning

17:11

that he had before the first goal. That

17:15

was close to six before he gave

17:17

that ball, he gave that ball to Walker.

17:19

Here in that situation, Barco,

17:22

the ball comes on his left foot, and you

17:24

can see that there is zero scanning. For now,

17:26

he's not saying that with the scanning, you're going

17:29

to go and score a goal, but he just

17:31

shows you that they've created something that they probably

17:33

work on every week. You attract the

17:35

opponent to play in

17:37

their back. And if you look... So,

17:39

just so I can help, because I know

17:41

exactly what you're saying, because they would look at

17:44

that, and I'm sure Deservy would

17:46

say, right, we're in business, because he has,

17:48

if he can get that pass there, you

17:50

can already see that he has spotted

17:53

that we might be in business

17:55

here, because we've

17:57

now created 3DV2. Is

18:00

that that's what you're exactly exactly and this is

18:02

what they're trying to do So now we're talking

18:05

about the next phase of that place. Can we

18:07

execute? Can we take the right information? Can we

18:09

execute and after that pass? Can you find your

18:11

free play against you? But if you can then

18:14

you've done the job. So what goes wrong? What goes wrong

18:16

is his first touch here He

18:19

goes back to his right foot and now you're panicking and

18:21

now you lose the ball and when you lose the ball

18:23

in that area of the

18:25

pitch, well you call for trouble and I

18:28

think if you like

18:30

the derby, this is what you will

18:32

see and like within His

18:35

game model and game plan when it

18:37

goes wrong people gonna criticize, you know

18:39

the attitude but I think right here

18:41

if he can play and It's

18:43

okay up to that point Yeah, the fact that he didn't

18:46

actually get the ball out of his feet and get the

18:48

ball up the field to the next phase Yeah, and

18:50

that's what they get everything right. I

18:52

think girl is that I love that tactical side

18:55

of it is what he's talking about. I just want to have

18:57

a look at something on that third goal from Why

19:01

I admire Manchester City so much and

19:03

what peppers created here with his team

19:06

is one of the hardest things in the world Is to

19:08

make and we've seen it with certain other clubs How

19:11

do I say multi-millionaires run? What

19:14

run run run hard when you haven't got the

19:16

ball and just watch how

19:18

effective so the first play I'm going to

19:20

identify is Cole Walker He's

19:23

gonna start this press. He's gonna go on that.

19:25

It gets a little bit wild, but he's after

19:27

the ball It's press one now. He's gonna go

19:29

press the goalkeeper now He's looking

19:32

to get the next one and then what

19:34

happens is almost like he then tags his

19:36

mate Okay, I can't win it

19:38

back now. It's your turn Bernardo

19:40

Silva so now Bernardo Silvers off. He's now

19:42

in the box. Can we win? We've got

19:44

a situation where we've got at numbers without number

19:46

them I think we need real

19:48

Jamie. It's true. It's training, but it's also what

19:50

you have to do It's what

19:52

you have to do if you want to

19:55

be successful because they're a beautiful side to

19:57

watch we love we admired The way that

19:59

they manipulate the ball in tight situation when

20:01

they play out from the back, but people

20:03

forget this is as important as anything else

20:05

in football. And if you can create this,

20:08

you win. That's what football's about,

20:10

because it's all not just about playing out from

20:12

the back and beautiful the side of game. You

20:14

of course you've got Phil Foden who's a

20:16

little genius, and he adds a little bit of sparkle. But

20:20

what Karl Walker's done, he starts that.

20:23

And that comes from every day in training. No,

20:25

they were happy with that situation. They've got them

20:27

into what I would call a

20:29

bit of a hole, still trying

20:31

to play out from the back. But that's

20:33

why I love Man City. Some people, they

20:36

go out, it's a bit boring at times.

20:38

I'm not having it. I think that's a

20:41

joy. And what Pep's done there, and to a

20:43

certain extent Arteta's doing it, well he's definitely doing

20:45

it, and so is Jurgen Klopp. The three best

20:47

sides are just unbelievable. It's relentless. And

20:50

that's why I love what they do. A

20:52

word for Karl Walker, who's involved obviously heavily in

20:54

the press there. He put the cross in for

20:56

Kevin De Bruyne. He got these assists for the

20:58

fourth goal as well. So he's played 390 times

21:00

in the Premier League. And

21:02

it's the first time tonight that he's

21:04

managed to have two assists in

21:06

one game. But it's probably one

21:08

of the very few times where

21:11

he actually played his natural position. So

21:13

the first goal come from a level up, which

21:15

he was used to do when he was at

21:17

Tottenham. And he's eating the line. So this

21:20

is his main game, and this is where he's

21:22

very strong at. We can

21:24

link this goal to the third goal, and

21:27

the mistake that Brighton did. You attract the

21:29

opponent and try to play at the back.

21:31

You can see clearly it's a two against

21:33

one, or two against two. You

21:35

need the quality to execute that pass, obviously.

21:37

But if it goes on, you have the

21:40

intention to play forward, this is what happens.

21:42

71 yard pass. That's

21:45

like, the bounce. You know,

21:47

he's just firing it, you know, the quarterback.

21:49

And that's why Manchester's so hard to press,

21:51

because they not only outnumber you, because they've got

21:53

a goalkeeper that can hit passes like this.

21:55

And you can see, the left back gets

21:57

in a bad position. you

22:00

can't end up in a race with Carl Walker.

22:02

Do you think this is also the game plan

22:04

against the Brighton side, who again are really good

22:06

at pressing? Yeah, he makes you press resistant, the

22:08

goalkeeper, because you can, as much as you... I

22:10

mean, in that situation, they don't really get pressed,

22:12

like Manchester City did, like Brighton got pressed. But

22:16

when you've got that asset, that pass,

22:18

when you're under pressure, we've seen him do it

22:20

many times, and teams start to force you in,

22:22

he can hit that. That's Kevin

22:24

De Bruyne, that's one of the best passes you'd

22:27

see in World Football doing that, isn't it, Gav? That's the

22:29

game plan of any team who likes to possess the ball,

22:31

you want to attract the opponent on one side and hurt

22:33

on the other side. How would you think to this one?

22:35

This is a great deal for... Grace Newsell thinks well. Yeah,

22:37

it could be given as well. It's a very dangerous play.

22:41

I think the referee probably

22:43

got a couple of decisions, not wrong, but

22:45

you can... Hamble, you can essentially. I think

22:47

this could be a foul on the goalkeeper,

22:49

it's a very dangerous play, but... Could

22:52

finish by Alvarez. I mean, the game by

22:54

itself is just... The way the

22:56

performance tonight is just perfect, it's

22:58

those kind of games that you want to

23:00

see. Possession football, attacking football, I

23:03

think they touch maybe twice

23:05

as many balls in

23:07

the final third than Brighton. Brighton

23:09

is the third team in the league, or

23:11

fourth team behind the top three, possession-wise.

23:15

This shows that, like you said, they're relentless

23:17

in the pressing and possession and

23:19

creating goals. They're the best team we've asked, and

23:21

also... They couldn't get the ball, Gav, could they?

23:25

35% possession Brighton had tonight, which is the lowest they've had

23:27

in any game this season. It

23:29

was pretty much close to perfect

23:31

from Manchester City. He

23:35

wasn't happy with everything, though, was he? He

23:37

never is. He's tense, and he

23:39

will drive his team on to the finish. We'll hear from

23:41

him next. You

23:51

can keep up to date with all

23:53

the latest from the Premier League by

23:55

using the free Sky Sports app. You'll

23:57

find news, highlights, interviews, live match coverage,

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24:08

and away you go. Now, back

24:10

to the Sky Sports Football Podcast. Well,

24:15

what a night it's been for Manchester City when

24:18

others stumble at this stage of

24:20

the season. Manchester City just seem to find

24:22

another gear, don't they? Their biggest away win

24:24

for two years and here is Pep Guardiola

24:26

giving his reaction to David Creagh. Pep,

24:31

you said to us before the game, it's

24:33

all about the game that's in front of

24:36

you, but you've made a statement tonight. How

24:38

big a statement other than just winning the

24:40

game have you made? The statement is three

24:42

points. This is the

24:44

only statement. We have, in

24:48

two days, we arrive today at 2am

24:50

at home and after tomorrow we have

24:52

to fly to Nottingham and another

24:54

one. So this is the statement, we win the game

24:56

because we know what we have

24:58

to do to arrive at the end

25:00

and try to fight to be champion. You've

25:03

spoken about that many times before that you do

25:05

know what you have to do. How important

25:08

is that knowledge at this moment with

25:10

the race so close? We

25:13

have been here in the past but that doesn't mean just

25:15

for the fact that we have been here, it's

25:17

going to happen. We have to

25:19

do the things that make it happen. So

25:23

we come here and open and we

25:25

know Brighton strength,

25:29

never give up, we saw in the second half. But

25:31

in the first

25:33

half we found all the right

25:35

rhythm to play and find a

25:38

field, we were scoring in the

25:40

right moment, in the first time we arrived and the

25:43

second, I don't

25:45

know, it was fault. So

25:48

in the right moments we punished them and

25:50

we won a really, really important game. Brighton

25:52

away is always really tough and Premier League

25:54

teams know it. On top

25:56

of those three points it's four goals and

25:58

you've cut that goal. difference with

26:00

Arsenal to single figures, how

26:03

crucial could that all prove to be

26:05

in the coming games? It's difficult to

26:07

cut them. The margin is so

26:09

big, they score a lot of goals, they don't

26:11

concede. Of

26:14

course you can score a lot of goals, it's a

26:16

bit better, but it's win

26:18

the game. We have five games left, it's

26:20

a lot, so a tough one, so

26:23

nothing for the delegation zone, pull

26:26

them away and support away always is difficult.

26:29

A part of the two games are home zone, one

26:31

game at a time, so I recover and nothing

26:34

I'm forced. You have a very special

26:36

group of players and special individuals. Kevin

26:38

De Bruyne, his first ever headed

26:40

Premier League goal, but not an

26:43

ordinary header, how technically difficult was

26:45

that? It's

26:49

not his strength, but I'm

26:52

more than welcome. I invite him if he

26:54

scores more goals. Phil

26:57

Foden is 51st Premier

26:59

League goal in total.

27:02

How much has he grown in your eyes

27:04

as a player? Is he a contender this

27:06

year for one of the players of the

27:08

season amongst many? For

27:10

sure, he won the

27:13

Premier League. In his age he won a

27:15

lot of titles, his influence in

27:17

the final third in the goals, and

27:20

everything today was playing

27:22

a little bit better than the previous last two

27:24

or three games, it was a little bit more

27:26

accelerated, more anxious, today was more calm. The

27:29

decision making was really good and the

27:31

talent of the goal was always good.

27:34

We spoke also before the game about one

27:36

of the challenges for all of the coaches,

27:38

is the rest, the recuperation, looking after

27:40

those players. How big is

27:42

that challenge for you at the moment, other than

27:45

just winning the games? A lot, especially the next

27:47

one. After you have two weeks, we

27:49

have the next two games against WOLF in full and we

27:51

have a long week. It will not be

27:53

a problem, but this week will be a tricky one. Because

27:57

they are so fast, nothing happened, they

27:59

are. good patterns and

28:02

you have to prepare well. Just finally

28:04

Pep, after the week we've

28:06

had with Arsenal, yourselves and Liverpool,

28:08

in your opinion is everyone still

28:11

involved in this race? Yeah.

28:14

Many things can happen. So what

28:17

happened in Liverpool that dropped through two

28:19

games against Crystal Palace and yesterday against

28:21

Everton can happen to us. Can

28:24

happen to us and nobody's safe for

28:26

that. So just to be

28:28

calm and be happy today for

28:30

the victory because we

28:33

come here for a terrible

28:35

long schedule but the players

28:37

still they are there and

28:40

now we just recover and

28:42

think the next one. Well

28:45

done, we're enjoying the race. Thank you. We

28:48

certainly are, it's just gripping isn't it? Not

28:51

that the Optum mathematicians necessarily agree with Pep

28:53

Guardiola's verdict that three teams are still in

28:55

it. They give Liverpool a 1% chance

28:58

based on the points they have

29:00

and the fixtures they have still

29:02

to go, Manchester City a 71%

29:04

chance. It

29:07

sounds like though, Gail, a

29:10

lot rides are missed from what he's saying there

29:12

about the preparation, the quick turnaround, they're going to

29:15

get back late tonight then they're going to fly

29:17

to Nottingham to prepare for this game. He's already

29:19

talking about the pace in their side,

29:21

the patterns of play. Yes. That's

29:24

the most important point at this stage of

29:26

the competition but I'm

29:28

not really worried about it. Again,

29:30

I'm coming back to this because if you are there,

29:33

five games to go out

29:35

of the Champions League against Madrid side

29:38

that we know about them,

29:41

they will know how to rest and this game

29:43

against Nottingham for rest, I will not

29:45

say that it will be the same as tonight

29:48

but this team know how to deal with

29:50

that and that's why they are content. The

29:52

percentage doesn't mean much but

29:54

the history and the past of what they've done

29:56

over the last 10 years is the

29:59

reason why. they will deal with it because

30:01

they know how to do this. The champion knows. Of

30:04

course, they're big favourites, Jamie. What could stop

30:06

them from here? We'll talk them over

30:08

a massive part to play, don't they? They're obviously going

30:10

to play Arsenal on Sunday, which is going to be

30:12

a huge game. We've only got to look at what

30:14

happened yesterday with Derby matches, anything is possible. I

30:17

think if Arsenal can navigate that one and get three

30:19

points, I think they win all their games. Then

30:22

it's just a question of if

30:24

Manchester City were to just slip up once, and I

30:26

mean by slipping up a draw, then it'll be Arsenal's

30:29

title. Tottenham have got

30:31

a home game against Manchester City as well.

30:33

They've got a good record against them. Manchester

30:36

City are rightly favourites. I'm not always a

30:38

Grieber and Hochter stats, but they are the

30:40

rightly favourites because they've got the history, they

30:42

know how to do it. But I do

30:44

believe that Arsenal are going to keep them

30:46

so honest. I really do. But I just

30:48

point to the Tottenham game on Sunday because

30:50

that's the big one for me. If they

30:52

win that, Arsenal win the rest of their

30:54

games. And if they do, Gail, if they

30:56

do win on Sunday and then beat Bournemouth

30:58

and Manchester United, does that not just build

31:00

doubt in Manchester City's mind? I

31:03

think that they're equipped and they know how

31:05

to deal with that. But like Jamie said,

31:07

I think... You don't see anything stopping City.

31:09

No, because we've seen it last year and

31:11

for what they've done, you have to respect

31:14

that work. You have to respect the fact

31:16

that after a triple season, they're still in

31:19

the race. I think people don't realise,

31:21

but people get excited after

31:23

one game, one good performances. We're talking about

31:25

a team that can win four in a

31:27

row. Just the fact that they're here

31:29

means business. So I'm not saying that they're going to

31:32

win it, but they know how to deal with it.

31:34

Give us an idea of what Pep Guardiola will be

31:36

like in these moments. We talked before the game about

31:38

the fact that City don't have to deal with complacency

31:40

because their manager is constantly pushing them on. How's

31:43

he going to be speaking to the players in

31:45

these moments between games? But you know what Kevin

31:47

said before. The first year, there were a lot of

31:49

work, there were a lot of tactical work, there were a

31:52

lot of video feedback to make

31:54

sure that people understand the message. The

31:56

message is clear now. The players know.

32:00

And more than that, they have quality all over the

32:02

pitch. So it's not to say they are going to

32:04

win it, but they know and they have everything to

32:06

go all the way. Arsenal have said it since the

32:08

beginning of the year, for me it's the

32:10

most equipped team to go all the way. And that's what they're

32:12

doing. They are ruthless, they're scoring goals,

32:14

they don't concede, but still in

32:17

Man City is hands because they have a

32:19

game in hands. We cannot argue against that.

32:23

CT are the favorites. Arsenal are doing

32:25

extremely well. And I

32:28

hope they can put pressure during

32:31

that game against Tottenham. But CT are

32:33

still in. Of course, they win it, they go four

32:35

points clear again. Yeah, absolutely. From

32:37

City's perspective as well, I know they're talking about

32:39

they've got to get to the knot, and it's

32:41

tough, but you also look at the

32:44

options he's got off the bench. If Harlan's going to

32:46

be fit in the weekend, he's got Stones, Diaz, Grealish,

32:51

Doku, players that can just change

32:54

everything for you. So if Harlan is fit

32:56

at the weekend, does he go straight back into the team,

32:58

do you think? Yeah,

33:00

I guess, yeah, I think he does. But even if

33:03

he says, okay, you're going to come off the bench,

33:05

it's not the end of the world. No one has

33:07

a divine right to play. But

33:09

this Harlan debate is going to rage because

33:12

of what's happened today. But Harlan won the treble

33:14

last year. Let's not disrespect what a guy has

33:16

done there. There's a lot of chat

33:18

about what he can't do, but what he can do is

33:20

be one of the best goal-scorers. And if they get a

33:22

big moment in the game, when it's really tight against West

33:24

Ham, who do they want to get in

33:26

front of goal to finish it? It will be Harlan. So yes,

33:30

if he's fit, I'm sure he might play because

33:32

he's going to keep rotating, keep everyone involved in

33:34

this title race is what he's always done. But

33:37

anything can still happen. That Tottenham game away is not

33:39

going to be easy. West Ham at home, we remember

33:41

thinking a couple of years ago, he won a title.

33:43

Aston Villa at home, we thought that'd be procession. How

33:45

difficult was that game? Nerves played, pressure puts

33:47

people in the really difficult positions at times. Do

33:49

you think, just the final one on this scale,

33:51

do you just think that the carrot of

33:55

becoming the first team in history to win for

33:58

successive top division? titles.

34:00

It's just being dangled in front of those

34:02

cities players. Yes, of course. And you work

34:04

so hard. They've achieved

34:06

and they've made history already last year, but

34:08

if they can get that fourth trophy

34:11

in a row, this will just bring

34:14

them somewhere else. Now saying that

34:16

I think Arsenal is a team that deserve also

34:19

to go all the way because of what they

34:21

did last year and because fresh

34:24

to see young players with, you know,

34:26

right attitude, the young manager. And

34:28

this is the way you want

34:30

to see Arsenal playing. So you would know there

34:33

would be a perfect champion after Arsenal win. There

34:35

will be a perfect champion.

34:37

But this is a bit of

34:39

a little bit of hope here. Like before the

34:41

game, you called it perfectly. You said that this

34:44

is a good game for Manchester City against Brighton.

34:46

Do you think that Nottingham Forest away because of

34:48

obviously their different profile that be a bit more

34:50

direct or they play on the counter attack that

34:52

might be more of a that would be more

34:55

of a difficult game? I'm looking

34:57

at the Tottenham game like Arsenal. I

34:59

think Tottenham can really change the course

35:01

of the race. If

35:03

Arsenal goes and win away, this

35:07

put pressure on City, but not I

35:09

don't see City dropping point against Forest against

35:12

Wolverhampton against Fulham, but

35:14

City have struggled against Tottenham. So Tottenham will have a

35:16

massive stay in the title race. But

35:18

again, you know, that game, that first game

35:20

Arsenal against Tottenham will be the big one.

35:22

That's all it's got to play for. Indeed

35:24

it is. Brighton coming

35:27

unstuck tonight. Let's hear from Roberto

35:29

de Zerbe with David Craig. Roberto,

35:32

you said to us before the game this

35:35

would be a difficult task and a difficult

35:37

task. How difficult did it prove to be

35:39

tonight? City

35:41

are one of the best teams

35:43

in the world. They

35:46

played very well. I'm

35:50

sorry for the first two

35:54

goals. The

35:56

first, the same, but the

35:59

first two goals. I think

36:01

were unlucky.

36:05

Pep Guardiola paid you a great compliment

36:08

before the game. He said you were

36:10

an exceptionally brave coach and your teams

36:12

play in a brave fashion. But sometimes

36:14

if you play in that style can it also

36:16

hurt you? Do you think that

36:19

Josto can be a good player in the game, or

36:22

do you think that Josto can be a good

36:24

player in the game? Yes,

36:28

sometimes we took the advantages. For

36:36

sure, if you made

36:38

mistakes you can concede

36:41

goals. You have to

36:43

analyse the whole season and

36:45

how many goals we scored

36:47

and how many points we

36:50

made playing the ball.

36:53

And the advantages

36:55

and what we can

36:57

concede. Tough

36:59

night for Brighton, it was always going to be

37:01

given the form they were in going into this

37:04

game. The amount of injuries that Roberto de Zerviis

37:06

had to cope with this year, but they are

37:08

still in with a chance of a top half

37:10

finish. There they are just below Bournemouth with a

37:12

game in hand on them. And

37:14

indeed West Ham united only four points ahead. And

37:16

this is what they have

37:18

left in this season. We

37:21

see it's a big one up next for them, Jamie. Win

37:23

that and I suppose the mood changes. Yes, absolutely.

37:25

I find it really hard to be too down

37:27

on what Brighton have had to go through this

37:30

year. A lot of injuries, Ferguson,

37:32

Matoma, two of the best young players in

37:34

the Premier League. They have not had them

37:36

for spells. Billy Gilmour is

37:39

obviously influential with the way and the style that

37:41

they play. So it's been difficult. I'm a massive

37:43

fan of this coach. I think he's a generational

37:45

coach. There are not many people that can do

37:47

what he can do. The way that

37:49

he sets up patterns of play, that is

37:51

a coach at his best. Liverpool looks like they're

37:54

going to go for an on the slot. That seems

37:56

to be the play from their point of view. I'm

37:58

surprised that he's not had more mentions. because

38:00

I think that he is one of the best out

38:02

there. I really believe that. And there's

38:04

no doubt it's been a tough season for them, but

38:08

Europe, the players, everything, they've had a

38:10

really long, lots of games that

38:12

was just caught up with them. But I still love watching

38:15

them play. Even though the couple of goals where they were

38:17

at fault for, I still find them a joy to watch.

38:19

I don't know what you think, Gav. As a young coach,

38:21

starting out on your journey, do you

38:23

look at his teams and take lessons from

38:26

them? Definitely. I remember Bakari Sanya played for

38:28

him in Italy and he told

38:30

me that he was already like that. There's one

38:32

important point is that in football, you can have

38:34

success with different options.

38:36

Obviously, if you train city, people

38:38

would expect you to win the Champions League, then

38:40

the Premier League, and the FA Cup, and the

38:43

League Cup. When you add Brighton,

38:45

what are the objectives? What I see is a

38:48

team that sells or solds

38:50

for 130 million players

38:52

over the last two years, which means you

38:54

lose your best player, obviously, and

38:57

you manage to still be in the

38:59

race to play Europe, play the first

39:01

season as a European team, which is

39:03

very difficult. We can see teams starting

39:06

to play European League or

39:08

Champions League struggling during the year. So

39:11

success is there for Brighton. So now if we want

39:13

to go the step above, I think it's what he

39:15

said a few weeks ago. I want to see the

39:17

ambition of the owner because there's a

39:20

limit that we cannot go if we

39:23

don't have the player to execute. It

39:25

feels like it's a really important summer ahead, doesn't

39:27

it, for Brighton. Gail, thank you very much for

39:29

being with us. Jamie, thank you very much as

39:32

well. Big weekend again coming your

39:34

way on Sky Sports, which

39:38

starts with Everton against Brentford, just about

39:40

safe both these teams now. 5 o'clock

39:42

that on Saturday night, and then what

39:44

a Sunday. It's the North London Derby,

39:46

Spurs against Arsenal from 1, followed

39:49

by that crunch game between Nottingham Forest,

39:52

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