Pep Guardiola insists the ‘last thing I’m thinking of is the table’ despite Manchester City going top for the FIRST time this season as they dominate West Brom to seal 11th straight win in all competitions
- Pep Guardiola has called for calm following Man City’s 5-0 win over West Brom
- The rout at the Hawthorns was City’s 11th-straight win in all competitions
- It sees City finish the day top of the league table for the first time this season
- Guardiola insists his men will not get carried away with 19 games left to go
Pep Guardiola called for calm after in-form Manchester City went top of the Premier League by routing West Brom 5-0.
Ilkay Gundogan’s first-half brace and goals from Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling eased City to victory at The Hawthorns.
They are a point ahead of Manchester United, although their rivals can reclaim top spot with victory over Sheffield United on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola has called for calm following Manchester City’s 5-0 win over West Brom
City are the ninth team to top the table this season but, after an 11th straight in win all competitions, Guardiola is keeping his cool.
He said: ‘The last thing I’m thinking of is the table. Now I want to come back home safely, have a few days off and Sheffield United is all I’m concerned about.
‘We still have 19 games to go in this incredible marathon. We are going to drop points and lose games but the important thing is to be calm, like we were when we were 12th in the table and understand why we didn’t win that game and immediately win the next one.
‘This is all I’m concerned about now. It’s the Premier League, welcome, it’s so tough for everyone. You know it’s competitive but we have had a good run.
City dominated the game on Tuesday and have now won 11 games in a row in all competitions
Guardiola heaped praise on Ilkay Gundogan (left), who scored twice at the Hawthorns
‘Congratulations to the team, we could not leave our box for the first two or three minutes but the rest of the game was good.’
Phil Foden had already hit the post before Gundogan collected Cancelo’s pass and found the bottom corner after six minutes.
Cancelo made it 2-0 on 20 minutes, firing in from the edge of the box with the goal given after a VAR check. Bernardo Silva had been incorrectly flagged offside by Sian Massey-Ellis in the build-up, meaning several Albion defenders had stopped playing.
It was 3-0 after half an hour when Gundogan grabbed his second, pinching the ball from Romaine Sawyers and breezing past Dara O’Shea to score.
Guardiola added: ‘He has always showed this level, except in the first season because he had an ACL. He has always showed an incredible personality. He is generous and a very nice guy.’
Gundogan opened the scoring by clipping the ball into the far corner in the sixth minute
Raheem Sterling (right) got in on the act in the second half as City went top of the table
Even without the injured Kevin De Bruyne, City were never troubled and Mahrez added a fourth in first-half stoppage time after Sterling’s searching pass.
Rodri struck the bar from distance after the break and Sterling wrapped up the scoring in the 57th minute when he tapped in Mahrez’s cross.
It was another sorry night for the second-bottom Baggies, who have now conceded 22 times in their last five home games.
