Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, spoke after leading his team to an away win over Newcastle United, bringing them close to the Carabao Cup final and giving special praise to two players.
Pep Guardiola, manager of the “Citizens” Manchester City, praised the performance of Antoine Semenyo, the newly signed winger from Bournemouth for £65 million, after he scored to help the team secure a 2-0 away victory over Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final last night. Guardiola also complimented Bernardo Silva.
Guardiola said, “We always encourage our wingers to get into the penalty area. It's no secret that you want players to be near the goal. Semenyo did very well, especially in the second half.”
"Bournemouth have done an excellent job in developing him, and whenever the ball reaches him, he's always there.
I think what Bournemouth have done under Iraola’s management has really helped Semenyo improve his ability to score opportunistic goals like this.”
“In a semi-final like this, you have to play in that way. It might help us.”
“And today you’ve seen just how excellent Bernardo Silva is. We will miss this player, but I hope he stays with the team for a long time. This man knows what it means to play football and be a good athlete. He knows everything.”
Speaking about the overall game, “We have to do better. That’s why we’ve won many titles — to improve in every aspect. Today we had injury problems and other issues, but it also helped us develop further.”
For the second leg of the semi-final, Manchester City will return to play at the Etihad Stadium on 4 Feb to compete for a spot in the final.