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Guardiola makes very honest Man City admission, praises Brighton to the hilt

Pep Guardiola made a very honest admission about Manchester City and praised opponents Brighton to the hilt following his side’s victory.

City were a force to be reckoned with in the first half at the Amex Stadium. They took the lead early on through Ilkay Gundogan and then a Phil Foden quick-fire double put them 3-0 up at the break. However, they were made to work for their victory thereafter.

Brighton pushed hard and were rewarded with a penalty with 10 minutes to go. Guardiola felt the spell on the back foot was a “good lesson” for the reigning champs.

He told Sky Sports: “It’s really good because I knew which team we face today.

“It was a good lesson, for 30 minutes they were better than us. This game must be played with the ball.

“We suffered and for the future we’ll be good.

“This is a huge victory for us. [To win here] is a big compliment for the team.

“We won the game because we have good players. Don’t ask me too much about the decisions of the managers.

“Brighton are aggressive and when they have the ball they know what they have to do. They have all the mechanisms of a big team.

“They have courage. I admire them for that. They play like a top four or five team.

“I like Phil [Foden], he knows how to play football. We can have an extra man in the positions we want to play. He has the quality to do that.

“He scored two goals and he could have scored more. He’ll improve.”

Despite the late scare, City did hold on to their lead and even added a fourth goal right at the death when Riyad Mahrez netted.

Foden echoes Guardiola’s honesty

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But like his manager, Foden openly admitted they were under the cosh for a large period of time against the Seagulls.

“We enjoyed the first half more than the second half. We were really good in the first half and a bit poor in the second,” he said to BBC Sport.

“In the end we got the result.

“I had to tell him [Gabriel Jesus] that it nicked off me [for Foden’s second goal], he hadn’t realised. A goal is a goal. Sometimes if you’re in the right place you get that bit of luck.

“We’re not a team who usually sit back but they put us on the back foot in the second half. We got the result. That’s the main thing.

“I don’t know where my best position is. I’m enjoying wherever I play, learning new positions.

“We’re on a good run of form. We’re working so hard in training to get things right.”

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