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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was in America during the international break watching tennis and golf. Now the attention is on the Premier League and the visit of Manchester United.
Pep Guardiola took in some title winning tennis and golf during the international break. He’ll hope to land silverware of his own this season.
The City chief watched the US Open final in New York where Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in the final, while Guardiola was also in attendance at the Wentworth to watch a practice round of the BMW PGA Championship, following Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood.
For Guardiola, there was the pleasure of watching athletes at the top of their game, but also a lesson he can pass on to his City players as they aim to kickstart their Premier League campaign against Manchester United this afternoon.
"It's always a pleasure to see their behaviours, how they behave, how they play. It's really, really good," said Guardiola.
He added: "In terms of mindset, we have a lot to learn from these kind of guys.
"Because I saw every point, Sinner or Alcaraz, for example, every point that they lost or missed one shot. Just in the sadness one second. The other one, looks to his manager, to his trainer, and says, “let's go, let's go, let's do it”.
"The body language was unbelievable. The mindset can be the same. But when you analyse one player, the other player is playing bad. Let's play with 10 more. And 10 more make that player good or bad sometimes. It not always depends on yourself."
Guardiola’s mentality and his desire to keep going and to keep winning is evident. It’s helped him follow successful season with successful season.
But last term was a difficult one for the City boss and he’s suffered a challenging start to this term with two defeats in three matches.
A host of signings have arrived this year and a significant amount of experience has departed. City are rebuilding, a feeling felt on the other side of Manchester for more than a decade.
This weekend’s derby feels pivotal for both clubs. Guardiola knows the value in beating their city rivals, even if it’s the league position come May that matters most to him.
“I am happy to finish champions of the Premier League," he said. "That is what I like and to do it you have to beat United. But sometimes you don’t win those games and you win it (the title).
"Of course it is important and special but you just have to try to be focused on your emotions and what you have to do. At then end you want to qualify for Champions League, fight for the titles and to be in finals in the FA Cup and this kind of stuff.
"I always have respect for United. I have respect for history, what they have done in the past, their legacy for English football, their legacy for world football. If they beat us, they beat us. In the end, it is where we finish at the end of the season.
"They can beat us, of course, but do we want to be beaten (on Sunday)? No, because we need the points, we need to break the rhythm of two defeats. It is a special game for the fans and we will try to do it."
English (US) ·