But it’s also an end of an era for City with goalkeeper Joe Hart set to depart.
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Hart collected a clean sheet on his first appearance of the season as City progressed to the Champions League group stage with a forgettable 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest – Fabian Delph’s 56th-minute header compounding the damage Laurentiu Reghecampf’s side suffered in a chastening 5-0 first-leg reverse.
Joe Hart could return for Manchester City as his long-term replacement looks on at the Etihad Stadium tonight.
The ground where Hart has plied his trade over a decade was a venue backed with emotion, as an uneventful game settled by Fabian Delph’s second-half header became nearly a sideshow to terrace tributes for the club’s longest-serving player.
He added, “I haven’t had any private discussions with Pep”. I’m finding we’re having a lot of possession in the first halves of games but not creating enough – I don’t like that.
“I can not deny what everyone knows, Barcelona was the first – one week or 10 days ago – who announced the contact with Manchester City”, Guardiola told a press conference. “I would like all my decisions to make everyone happy but it is impossible”.
City – with or without the England goalkeeper – will now enter Thursday’s Champions League draw along with Leicester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. “All of them, I was really impressed how professional they are”. “This is a special place for me”. This is a special place for me and there has never been any secret of that. I will keep working, whenever I get my chance I will do my best for the team, work with the team.
“Well, pigs do fly, don’t they?”
“It’s a situation, we’ve got a top manager that the club’s wanted for a long, long time and he’s going to have his opinion on things”.
From the “army” few people expected such a failure, however, cannot be play back.
“The fans may boo because they know how good he is”, Guardiola said. “It is what it is”.
“What Joe has made in this club is much more than I did in my past, which is just one month here, and I’m pretty sure what I will do with this club”.
Fans made clear their feelings on the sudden demotion of the two-time title-winner throughout but it remains to be seen whether Hart still has a part to play in the Guardiola era.
“But I am here to take the decisions”.
It’s a freakish situation, and one that isn’t likely to help his prospects for club or country.
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“I’m here to take decisions – I make a lot of mistakes all my career as a coach – sometimes good decisions, sometimes bad”. “I have an excellent relationship with Joe, him with me”.
