There have been times when it’s not met his standards; he felt we made avoidable mistakes against Leicester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, but there have been plenty of games in which our rearguard has impressed him.
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“There are many things that are good,” he said of City’s defensive efforts ahead of the 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
“We don’t concede much and from there we are going to grow.”
Heading into the festive period, City’s confidence in defence will certainly be growing.
Our steeliness at the back has characterised our performances for much of this season and was particularly evident during last weekend’s win over a Southampton side who peppered Ederson’s penalty area with crosses.
City held firm, and, as we approach the midway point of the season, we boast the meanest defence in the Premier League, having conceded just 12 goals in 13 games.
Indeed, since our 5-2 defeat to Leicester in September, City have excelled at the back, with only eight goals against in 19 matches in all competitions, at an average of 0.42 goals per game.
In that period we’ve recorded a hugely impressive 12 clean sheets and whilst Guardiola has highlighted that a solid defensive display is a by-product of the whole team’s performance, there have been some notable performers in our back four.
Kyle Walker’s continued excellence and Joao Cancelo’s growing influence have stood out in the full-back berths, whilst in the middle, both Ruben Dias and John Stones have impressed in recent weeks.
Dias has made a seamless transition since arriving from Benfica.
“Ruben has helped us a lot to be solid, and he has settled perfect with John,” said Guardiola after the Southampton game, when he praised the 23-year-old’s leadership qualities.
Dias has conceded just eight goals in his 16 games for City, whilst the resurgent Stones has only seen two goals against in his 10 appearances, with Pep suggesting recently that the Barnsley-born centre-half is enjoying some of his best form in a sky-blue shirt.
Guardiola has spoken of his desire to see his side improve in front of goal, do that, and our performances at the other end of the pitch will provide the perfect platform for the team to be firing on all cylinders.
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