Pep Guardiola thrashed claims that his Manchester City side were back to their best in their 4-1 win against West Ham United on Saturday, although admitting he would sleep better after their victory.
Erling Haaland netted twice in a league game since September and Savinho was brilliant, setting up three goals in the win which left them sixth on the standings, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Although, it was City’s first time to win successive games since October, Guardiola was not entirely pleased.
“No, you judge the results,” he said reporters after the win at Etihad Stadium.
“We saw in many years our level. We are not at our level.”Don’t misunderstand me. I’m so happy. I will sleep better until the FA Cup [City host Salford City on January 11th]. But you watched the games for years, we’re not at the level, come on. Against Everton we played much better than today. And we draw, big crisis, disaster.
“Of course there are positives. If you ask me the team is playing like the years, of course not.”
Sitting on the sidelines due to injury on most occassions, Kevin De Bruyne played the full match, a positive sign just a day after Guardiola said the 33-year-old’s fitness and form would be assessed before the club makes a decision on a contract extension as De Bruyne’s current deal expires in June.
The Belgian, who has scored two goals and provided his third assist of the season to Phil Foden’s second-half goal on Saturday, dodged questions about his contract status after the win.
“I don’t care,” De Bruyne said to the BBC.
“I am just trying to get back to my level. I feel every week I am getting better. I can go for 90 minutes now. It has been an uncomfortable couple of months with the injury.”
