Guardiola apologizes for calling former player overweight

Coach Pep Guardiola apologized to Kalvin Phillips for publicly criticizing the English midfielder for being overweight upon his return from the 2022 World Cup.

Thanks to his top form when he helped England reach the Euro 2021 final, Phillips was recruited by Man City for $61 million in the summer of 2022. However, the 28-year-old midfielder failed to live up to expectations, making only six starts in 18 months, before joining West Ham on loan in the January 2024 transfer window.

After finding a new destination, Phillips said he was heavily affected by Guardiola's comments when he was left out of the squad for the 3-2 win over Liverpool in the 1/8 round of the English League Cup in December 2022. At that time, Guardiola explained that Phillips was overweight and not in the right physical condition to train and compete.

At the press conference before the Premier League's round 18 match against Brentford today, when asked if he regretted publicly criticizing Phillips for being overweight, Guardiola replied: "Yes. I apologize. I never say anything without first telling the players, in this case Phillips."

Coach Guardiola instructs Phillips (left) before sending him onto the field in the FA Cup quarter-final match against Burnley on March 18, 2023 at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: Reuters — Coach Guardiola instructs Phillips (left) before sending him onto the field in the FA Cup quarter-final match against Burnley on March 18, 2023 at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: *Reuters*

Having won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, Man City are still in with a chance of winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup this season. But on the way to a fourth consecutive Premier League title, Man City have conceded 26 goals - two more than Liverpool and four more than Arsenal. Last weekend's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium meant Man City have kept just six clean sheets in 25 Premier League games this season - their lowest tally at this stage of the season under Guardiola.

The 53-year-old coach said that his and his team's priority is not to keep a clean sheet, but to play better, concede fewer goals, create more chances in each match and, most importantly, win the match. "That is my target every time I prepare for a match," he stressed. "When we concede a goal, we have to improve, in the way that this goal could have been avoided and hopefully it won't happen again next time."

In the 3-1 win at Gtech Community on February 5, Kyle Walker reacted angrily to the provocative words of Neal Maupay - the striker who plays for Brentford on loan from Everton. "I don't want that, sometimes there are emotions on the pitch but this incident has been forgotten. I think they have talked and it's over."

When asked how he dealt with the provocative words of opponents during his professional career, Guardiola replied: "It depends on my mood. Sometimes I can control myself, sometimes I go crazy. When I play football, I am the same as the players now."

If they beat Brentford today, Man City will take second place from Arsenal and reduce the gap with Liverpool to one point.

Hong Duy

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