Pep hails ‘supermen’ City players after latest win

Phil Foden‘s 16th goal of the season earned Manchester City a 1-0 win at Bournemouth that trimmed the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to one point and prompted plenty of praise by Pep Guardiola on Saturday.

Guardiola’s team had to contend with a misfiring Erling Haaland and a second-half onslaught from Bournemouth before leaving the south coast with a 15th victory from their last 17 matches in all competitions.

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“I adore my players — they are supermen,” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “They are so good. Where we come from for many years, playing every three days — [Bournemouth] had seven days to prepare for the game and we always have less.

“So when people say, you play in the same conditions in the Premier League, no, no — we don’t have the same equality, we have much more games than the rest to play, and this is a tough place to come, they are a fantastic team, they won 3-0 at Old Trafford.

“We demand too much of our players but they respond. I know people say ‘they earn a lot of money’ but [the schedule] is too much. Honestly. But business must go on and it surprises me every time how we are still there, they have an incredible character and are so competitive even when they are tired, they give extra.

“Our fans have to be so proud of these guys.”

The latest win was secured by Foden’s 24th-minute tap-in after Haaland’s shot was parried out by Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto.

The 23-year-old Foden has also contributed seven assists this season and has stepped up to be one of City’s leaders on the pitch.

“Forget about the goals — of course they are important — but do you know how he played?” Guardiola told reporters during his news conference.

“How he controlled and accelerated. He has become already a top-class football player. From a little boy, now he has become already Phil, a world class, top player.

“He’s so good. He can play everywhere, especially in the central position and play really, really good.”

It was Bournemouth who did most of the running after Foden’s goal and were unlucky to lose, with Marcus Tavernier squandering two fine chances.

City were unconvincing but stayed firmly in the hunt for another title ahead of a crucial March that contains league matches against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

It was City’s second 1-0 win in a row after edging past Brentford by the same score on Tuesday.

“The last 10-15 minutes were tough — we won the treble and people think we have to win every game 4-0, 5-0 but that is not the reality and hopefully soon we can have a week off and refresh our minds and legs,” Guardiola added to Sky Sports.

Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench for a late cameo for City after hamstring trouble led to him missing the Brentford game. The Belgian was booked and squandered a decent chance after being played through by the excellent Foden.

City will be back in action in the FA Cup fifth round against Luton Town before facing a Manchester derby against rivals United the following Sunday.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.