<figure id="attachment_2946707" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2946707" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-2946707 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/3dce42e6-afp__20241221__36r68bn__v1__highres__fblengprastonvillamancity_1600x1000_1.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2946707" class="wp-caption-text">Manchester City&#8217;s manager Pep Guardiola said City would make a call on the fitness of Erling Haaland and Nico O&#8217;Reilly after Tuesday&#8217;s training session. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
LONDON: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said teams must adapt to deal with set pieces after Liverpool manager Arne Slot spoke about how they were sucking some of the &#8220;joy&#8221; out of the Premier League.
Arsenal have been labelled &#8220;Set Piece FC&#8221; as a result of their prowess from dead ball situations and other sides are learning from their playbook.
Speaking Tuesday, on the eve of title-chasing City&#8217;s match against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, Guardiola said clubs had no choice but to learn to deal with the growing threat.
&#8220;It&#8217;s part of the dynamics and you can complain (but) you have to adapt and it&#8217;s part of the game,&#8221; he said.
The Spaniard, renowned for his fluid, possession-based football, said &#8220;in some aspects&#8221; he agreed with Slot, but explained that one of the fascinating aspects of football was the range of different styles.
&#8220;Football has not been played in one way since the it has been created,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;So the football played in England is different from Spain, it&#8217;s different in Italy, it&#8217;s different and that&#8217;s nice.
&#8220;That&#8217;s why the Champions League is nice, different ways, even in that country every manager plays in a different way,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;So it&#8217;s nice, that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s so attractive. How boring would it be if all the managers and all the leagues played in the same way?
&#8220;So if I like or don&#8217;t like, it&#8217;s my business, so if I don&#8217;t like, I don&#8217;t watch as a spectator, but it is what it is, I have to adapt. It&#8217;s a question of how quickly you adapt,&#8221; he said.
City have won their past six games in all competitions and are five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
&#8220;The last 10 games now start to be decisive,&#8221; said the City boss.
&#8220;Two Premier League games before the international break &#8211; we are five behind Arsenal so we can&#8217;t drop points,&#8221; he said.
Guardiola said City would make a call on the fitness of Erling Haaland and Nico O&#8217;Reilly after Tuesday&#8217;s training session.
Norwegian striker Haaland missed Saturday&#8217;s 1-0 win at Leeds after picking up a knock in training while O&#8217;Reilly was forced off with an ankle problem at Elland Road.

MatchPoint Times

Guardiola says Premier League teams must adapt to set-piece threat

Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola reacts as Arsenal’s dead-ball dominance draws criticism from Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot.

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