After another late, great win, to evoke memories of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, Pep Guardiola says it’s a “pleasure” to be compared to the successful Scot.
The phrase ‘Fergie time’ was coined as United often snatched victories at the death during their trophy-laden era.
And there is a case for ‘Pep time’ now as neighbours Manchester City show their own will to win in the latter stages of games. Having overcome Feyenoord, Huddersfield and Southampton in this manner, the Etihad outfit did it again to maintain their eight-point advantage over United at the top of the Premier League.
A powerful header from Angelo Ogbonna stunned City on the stroke of half time as the struggling Hammers, led by home icon Pablo Zabaleta, defiantly set about trying to upset the form book.
But Guardiola’s side responded with Nicolas Otamendi squeezing in a leveller from a Gabriel Jesus cross and then David Silva latching onto a sublime Kevin De Bruyne pass and hooking a volley home for the winner seven minutes from time.
“I heard about the Fergie time,” said the City chief. “At the end what we show in the last games is we never give up.
“I think what happened, the opponent doesn’t want to play. They just want to defend, waiting for a moment. Even in that situation we have to learn to attack that position.
“That is why I’m happy because we were able to do it in the second half. In Huddersfield we had more problems than this in the second half when they defend the same way. If we can take something about the Fergie time, it is welcome, a pleasure.”
As City stretched their winning run to 20 games in all competitions, they also equalled the record 13-match streak, set in a single season, of Chelsea and Arsenal.
And Guardiola said he wants to maintain this run with Shakhtar Donetsk to follow in the Champions League on Wednesday and then a crunch clash at United on Sunday.
“I said to the players the guy who doesn’t want to play in Donetsk, let me know please,” he added. “I am preparing a team to win.”
Despite being driven back for most of the second half and keeper Adrian – deputising for Joe Hart, ineligible against his parent club – making a string of superb saves to deny City, namely from Silva and Leroy Sane, striker Diafra Sakho almost snatched an injury-time leveller, but fired wide.
The loss hurt the Hammers after their battling efforts and boss David Moyes made no excuse for setting his side up defensively.
“I really want the football to be attacking, but we are playing against a team that we can hardly get the ball from so what are you going to do?” said the Scot, whose second-bottom side next face Chelsea and Arsenal.
“We are gutted we lost it. Some results don’t show that they are a really good group of boys and working really hard, but when you play top teams you have to do it for 90, not 60 or 70.”
