Pep Guardiola warns Man City of ‘risk’ of relying on comebacks

The champions have gone two goals down in four of their last six Premier League games

Pep Guardiola has told Manchester City they will suffer if they carry on going behind because they won’t always be able to mount comebacks.

City have gone two goals down in four of their last six Premier League games and lost none of them, recovering from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Newcastle United and trailing 2-0 to Crystal Palace before winning 4-2.

But while Guardiola is pleased with their powers of recovery, he believes their defensive record needs to improve or a high-risk approach will cost them.

He said: “Always we score a lot of goals and concede few and now we are scoring a lot but conceding a lot and if we don’t stop that it will be difficult. We have to try to avoid it.

“We cannot always score four or five goals to win the games. In last years always when we were down it was difficult to come back. Now we prove we can do it but we have to avoid it. Is a risk. One day will not be able to come back.”

Guardiola felt that City’s problems against Palace did not come in open play, though he accepted they need to get better at defending from dead-ball situations.

“In last game against Crystal Palace we concede few chances: one corner, one free kick, one other shot,” he added. “But set-pieces is an important part of the game. [The problem] is the transitions and the set-pieces and if we do not have more control we will suffer.”

Guardiola denied his free-scoring ethos is the root of City’s issues, saying: “Do we concede more goals because we attack more? It makes no sense. As far away from your goal [you are], you are safer.”