“I hate Chelsea for this rhythm against us the almost win the game against us thanks for Rodri” – Guardiola explains why Manchester City couldn’t beat Chelsea

“I hate Chelsea for this rhythm against us” – Guardiola explains why Man City failed to overcome Chelsea –

“I hate Chelsea for this rhythm against us” – Guardiola explains why Man City failed to overcome Chelsea

Pep Guardiola has blamed Manchester City’s failure to win Chelsea at home on bad luck and a poor first half performance.

Chelsea were defeated to a 1-1 draw by the defending champions, with Raheem Sterling’s opening cancelled out by Rodri late in the game.

City are now two points behind Arsenal and four points behind league leaders Liverpool, despite having played one less game.

Guardiola stated after the match: “It was a good game. The second half was significantly better than the first. We were out of sync in the first half, but in the second half, we increased everything and put up a great effort, but we couldn’t win.

“We played well and had plenty of chances. It should have been on target because we were so close, but that’s how it is. To play against that calibre of team, you must play for 94 minutes. Today, that did not occur.

“I’m always positive, but after we created that many chances after the score, the squad did everything and it was enough.

“We resume on Tuesday. No one else plays since we were in Saudi Arabia to win the Club World Championship, and we’re trying to recover and play well.”

Guardiola should be pleased that they did not lose to Chelsea, considering the Blues could have won it on another day.