Pep Guardiola Admits Manchester City Sometimes Have to Park the Bus When They’re “S**t”

Pep Guardiola has defended Manchester City’s tactical approach in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal, insisting that his side occasionally need to “park the bus” when opponents are stronger — or when, in his words, City are “s**t.”

Pep Guardiola on Why Man City ‘Park the Bus’

Guardiola pushed back at criticism that Man City played negative football against Arsenal, where they had just 32.8% possession. The City boss reminded critics that pragmatism is sometimes part of the game.

“Until I retire, I would love to play the way I want to play,” he said. “But sometimes we are not good, sometimes the opponent is better. When we defend deeper it’s because they are better — or we are s**t. If you can run the transition, then run.”

Guardiola also pointed to history, recalling that Johan Cruyff once told him at Barcelona to hit Romario with longer passes when the midfield was being man-marked. He argued it’s no different today with Erling Haaland waiting up front.

Is Guardiola Changing His Tactics at Man City?

Critics accused Guardiola of abandoning his possession-based philosophy, but he dismissed the idea as nonsense.

“After beating Napoli, three days later we changed our way of playing? F***, I must be a really good manager then,” he said sarcastically. “It’s the same as before. The difference is that opponents play differently and sometimes we can’t do it better.”

Guardiola noted that some of City’s biggest wins have come with less of the ball — including a 3-1 victory at Arsenal two years ago with just 36.5% possession.

The manager stressed that City’s style will return to its best once their 10 summer signings settle, including Gianluigi Donnarumma and young goalkeeper James Trafford.

“We can be a stable team. When injured players come back and the new ones adapt, the team will grow,” Guardiola said.

Man City Carabao Cup Team News

With Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield on the horizon, Guardiola confirmed that 18-year-old Divine Mukasa and 17-year-old Stephen Mfuni will be in the squad.

Meanwhile, Trafford will start in goal, while Kalvin Phillips is set to miss out due to family reasons.

Defender Abdukodir Khusanov is expected to be sidelined for the next three matches after picking up an ankle injury in the draw against Arsenal.