Pep Guardiola admits “the fear set in” after Claudio Bravo’s red card and “four points from two games against Atalanta is a wonderful result” for Manchester City.
Raheem Sterling scored early on at San Siro and Gabriel Jesus missed a penalty, but the hosts dominated the second half with a Mario Pasalic header and were unable to make the most of Bravo’s dismissal.
As Ederson went off injured, it meant there were no other goalkeepers available, so Kyle Walker had to take the gloves.
Pep Guardiola admits “the fear set in” after Claudio Bravo’s red card and “four points from two games against Atalanta is a wonderful result” for Manchester City.
Raheem Sterling scored early on at San Siro and Gabriel Jesus missed a penalty, but the hosts dominated the second half with a Mario Pasalic header and were unable to make the most of Bravo’s dismissal.
As Ederson went off injured, it meant there were no other goalkeepers available, so Kyle Walker had to take the gloves.
“It’s my first time with three goalkeepers in one game,” confessed Guardiola on Sky Sport Italia after the 1-1 draw.
“The fear did set in when the red card came, as we had so many attacking players out there, so you do fear the worst. Ilicic was very clever, leaving his leg there for Claudio to catch it.
“It’s a last-man foul, there is contact, so it’s a red card, there are no doubts about it. At that moment, I had to decide who to go in goal.
“I know Atalanta are very aggressive and we made few mistakes, but did pay for them. The Italians know what Atalanta are capable of, so I am really glad that we managed to only concede one shot on target after Walker went in goal. This is a really good result for us.
“We should’ve doubled our lead before half-time, but it happens. Sometimes it is better not to win games. We underestimate nobody, just look at the results we saw yesterday.
“I certainly would never underestimate Atalanta. All Italians know that getting four points from two games against Atalanta is a wonderful result for us.”
Guardiola was asked if after Spain, Germany and England, he’d like an experience in Serie A?
“Maybe. It’s certainly possible. It was a great pleasure for me to be in Italy as a player, I really love this country. However, right now it is not in my mind, as I’m happy where I am, but I’m not so old that I won’t have time for it in future.”
There were, of course, strong reports over the summer that he was going to Juventus.
“You were listening to bad information.”