Guardiola reaction to goals shows his priority
When Riyad Mahrez curled in a beautiful free kick to put Manchester City ahead against Chelsea, he ran to his bench to celebrate with the whole squad. That allowed Pep Guardiola to collar Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez for a word, before bringing in Sergio Gomez and Cole Palmer. The latter pair were teaming up on the left flank, and Guardiola engaged them in a very animated tactical conversation after Chelsea had got in behind Gomez a couple of times, and Palmer had just missed a golden opportunity on the break.
Moments later, Gomez and Palmer combined to win a corner, which Kai Havertz opted to punch rather than head. And when the referee reviewed the potential penalty that led to City's second, Guardiola wasn't interested in the decision and more in giving centre-backs Aymeric Laporte and Manu Akanji some equally energetic instructions. Only when Phil Foden turned in a third before halftime did Guardiola raise his arms in celebration and relax.
