Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes his side will learn from Saturday’s frustrating 0-0 draw against Wolves in China. The treble winners were unable to break down Nuno Espirito Santo’s side and eventually lost on penalties in the Asia Trophy final.
City wasted a number of decent opportunities and generally failed to click when they found space in Wolves’ box. Guardiola’s men still have to play Kitchee and Yokohama F. Marinos before returning to England for the Community Shield. Despite the disappointment of Saturday’s defeat, Guardiola believes his team can make big improvements in the next few weeks.
Guardiola said: “If we are going to lose in the future it will not be because we lost on penalties in this competition. “We played incredibly well in the first half. Wolves defended so well and deep and it’s not easy to create chances, but we created and we didn’t concede one counter-attack in that first half and the first 15 minutes of the second.
“Everybody, not just the young players, made a good performance. We will learn from that. We realise how difficult everything is and we are satisfied, especially with the way we played.” City face Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley on August 4. They then have just six days to prepare for their first league game of the season as they take on West Ham United at the London Stadium.
City are the heavy favourites to win that clash, while they are also odds on to win their third successive Premier League title. Punters can back them to lift the trophy at odds of 1.62, while Liverpool are 3.30.