Pep Guardiola’s discarding of his role as cheerleader-in-chief for his Manchester City players is a first peek behind the Catalan’s urbane public mask since the tetchiness of his opening season.
Then, as now, the cause of the manager’s ire was a misfiring team. After a tight win over Burnley in January 2017 Guardiola knew the fight was for a Champions League place, not the title, and when asked by reporters this uber-winner could not contain his disgust.
