Sport

Pep Guardiola jokes he’s ‘not overthinking’ massive second leg against Real Madrid

He might be a tactical genius but he's be known to do overdo it from time to time — usually in the Champions League...

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 17th May 2023

Pep Guardiola is already having fun with the narrative ahead of his team’s second leg against Real Madrid in the Champions League, joking that he’s “not overthinking” anything this time around.

Manchester City are just one game away from another UCL final against Inter Milan, but the Blues must first find a way to break the deadlock against the all-time leading European champions and hope they don’t answer back.

The gravity of this game is massive; City could not only lift their first Champions League trophy (the job that many state is the task Guardiola was brought to the club for), but they also stand a very credible chance of winning the hallowed treble, and the weight of that expectation is not lost on Pep either.

Speaking to the press ahead of Wednesday night’s decisive second leg at the Etihad, the Catalan coach said on Tuesday, “I’m not overthinking tomorrow, don’t worry guys”, with the entire room letting out an ironic chuckle at the self-deprecating dig.

‘Overthinking’ tactics is an accusation that has been levelled at Pep Guardiola many times in the past, namely ahead of big games and especially during his time at City.

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Whether it’s trying out various different players at left-back for a crucial tie, hinting at ‘ridiculous ideas’ ahead of the Manchester derby, or leaving out in-form players such as Raheem Sterling in the Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool in the 2017/18 season, he’s often surprised us.

And then there was last year going too defensive against Lyon in the 19/20 semis and choosing to select neither Rodri nor Fernandinho in their last European final against Chelsea the following year when his squad arguably stood their best chance of finally lifting that missing piece of silverware.

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Last season was, admittedly, just one of those freak games that Madrid as serial winners can often produce, to be fair. However, Pep and his squad still have to find a way to get past them again, as far as we can tell, the two-time UCL winner isn’t planning on trying anything unorthodox this time.

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As he went on to tell reporters, “I cannot tell you here [but] it’s nothing special… nothing different than what we have done in the past. We’ll adjust our game to be a bit more fluid and play a little better but, of course, our opponents have their weapons”.

But in the same breath, so do City and in spades, such as the one key man they didn’t have last year: Erling Haaland — another figure has himself admitted he was brought to the club to win the Champions League.

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Come on, Pep, there’s a potential Oasis reunion riding on this…

You can watch Pep Guardiola’s pre-match press conference for Man City vs Real Madrid down below:

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Featured Image — Beanyman Sports (via YouTube)/Manchester City (via Twitter)

Sport

Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.

We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?

Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.

And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.

The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.

Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.

At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.

And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).

But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.

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That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.

Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.

Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)

Sport

Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester Storm's return to the AO Arena. Credit: Supplied

Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.

The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.

But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.

Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.

Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.

The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.

The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.

“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.

“We advise attendees to retain their tickets which will remain valid for the rescheduled fixture.

“Those with single-game tickets for this game and seeking a refund are advised to contact their point of purchase.

“The rescheduled game will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026.

“Manchester Storm and AO Arena would like to thank attendees for their understanding.”

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Featured image: Supplied

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