Pep Guardiola says running less is secret to Manchester City's surge in form

Ahead of Premier League game against Brighton, Spanish manager believes his team were trying too hard and needed to let the ball do the work

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  MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Zack Steffen 6 – Made a couple of handy saves to deny Birmingham on the counter. His second half was much shakier, however. Getty

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  Joao Cancelo 6 – Decent in spells but didn’t really manage to impact the game in an attacking capacity. Was substituted on the hour mark. Getty

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  Ruben Dias 7 – Was fortunate to avoid punishment for a wild first half tackle, but otherwise, the powerful defender remained solid. Reuters

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  Kyle Walker 8 – Impressive in the slightly unfamiliar Centre-back position. Moved across to Full back late in the game, with his overlapping runs causing havoc in the Birmingham half. PA

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  Benjamin Mendy 7 – Spent most of the game in the opposition’s half, adding good width to City’s play. Getty

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  Rodri 8– Controlled the midfield expertly. Broke down counterattacks exceptionally well, and hardly put a foot wrong on the ball. Getty

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  Riyad Mahrez 8 – Was heavily involved in two of City’s early goals. Had one of his own chalked off in the second half for an offside infringement. Getty

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  Kevin De Bruyne 9 – Enjoyed a sensational first 45 minutes, cutting Birmingham apart with several defence-splitting passes. Assisted Silva’s second goal before being rested. Reuters

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  Bernardo Silva 9 – Handed City a vital lead with a spectacular half-volley. Grabbed a second just minutes later, to cap off a superb afternoon’s work. Getty

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  Phil Foden 8 – Inventive as always in the City midfield. His strike from range to give his side a 3-0 lead was a worthy reward for his efforts. Getty

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  Gabriel Jesus 7 – The Brazilian is clearly low on confidence – as was evidenced by his composure in front of goal. Should really have scored a brace. Reuters

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  SUBS: Felix Nmecha 6 – Struggled to get into the game after coming on for the second half. Reuters

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  John Stones 7 – Comfortable in possession with very little to do in the way of defending. Getty

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  Taylor Harwood-Bellis 6 – Was largely untroubled at the back until the last 20 minutes. Jeremie Bela’s introduction certainly highlighted one or two weaknesses in the youngster's game. AFP

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  Liam Delap N/A – Came on too late to make a notable impact, with his only shot at goal being a header that was ballooned over the bar. Reuters

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  BIRMINGHAM CITY RATINGS: Andres Prieto 5 – Spilled a handful of shots that really should have been held on to. Very was little he could do about Man City’s three goals. Reuters

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  Maxime Colin 5 – Endured a torrid afternoon, tormented by the home side’s persistent runs in behind the Birmingham back-line. Getty

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  Jake Clarke-Salter 6 – Solid, if unspectacular. Help keep the score line respectable. AP

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  Mikel San Jose 5 – Decent in the air, but ultimately struggled to cope with the fast-paced nature of the game at times. AP

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  George Friend 7 – One of Birmingham’s best performers, adding good energy on the counterattack to solid defending in his own penalty area. Reuters

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  Maikel Kieftenbeld 6 – The captain did his best to stem the tide of City attacks, managing to make some fine interceptions throughout the match. Getty

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  Ivan Sunjic 5 – Was chasing shadows for much of the game. One to forget. Reuters

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  Jon Toral 5 – Looked a tad off the pace after making a number of rash tackles early on. AFP

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  Ivan Sanchez 6 – Lacked composure on the break but was one of the tidier Birmingham players in possession. Reuters

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  Jonathan Leko 7 – Very lively going forward, beating his man with regularity in the first half. Eye-catching pace and skill on a day where his side was well beaten. Reuters

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  Scott Hogan 5 – Cut an isolated figure for much of the game, with virtually no opportunities to properly test Steffen in the City goal. AFP

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  SUBS: Marc Roberts 7 – Made his mark in the second period with a few crunching tackles. Very positionally disciplined. AFP

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  Adam Clayton 6 – Worked hard but saw very little of the ball. Reuters

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  Lukas Jutkiewicz 6 – Almost sniffed out a goal from a spilled Steffen save, but just couldn’t stay onside. Reuters

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  Jeremie Bela 7 – Changed the complexion of the game in the final 20 minutes. Rattled the City bar following an excellent breakaway run. Getty

Pep Guardiola believes the secret to Manchester City’s recent surge is running less.

City are on their longest winning run for 20 months after chalking up six successive victories, including Cup triumphs away at Arsenal and Manchester United and arguably their best performance of the season when they defeated Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

But whereas some managers call for their team to put in more effort, Guardiola thinks City were trying too hard and are now prospering because they are letting the ball do the work.

City’s fortunes have been transformed since their 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion. And Guardiola said: “The only difference is that we run less. We were playing running too much. With football you have to walk – or run much less, without the ball you have to run. But with the ball you stay more in position and let the ball run, not you. That’s improved in these games.”

Guardiola feels City were trying to run themselves back into shape after they lacked their usual build-up to a campaign, but in the process forgot about the importance of allowing the ball to come to them.

“From day one we lost it a bit this season,” he said. “My fault – the message was not clear but we came back with the principles, especially the players need time to get the best condition after no pre-season.”

City host Brighton on Wednesday in the start of three home league games in eight days. It is a spell that could end with them top of the table for the first time this season.

Guardiola is ignoring the bigger picture but admitted that he felt his side did not deserve to be described as favourites after some of their earlier displays.

“We tried to say to the players be calm because this is a strange situation and the most intelligent thing I can say is Brighton, Brighton, Brighton,” he said. “The rest are not in my thoughts for one second, only Brighton. And after that I can see what happens. Momentum can arrive and disappear in an instant.

"We didn't play well in the beginning to deserve to be up there, so the people who analyse the last games and say we are not candidates and others are. We dropped points to West Brom [at home] and West Ham away. The public opinion said we do not deserve to be contenders."

Brighton have only won two league games all season and have suffered seven straight defeats to City, conceding 13 in the last three, but Guardiola is an admirer of their progressive principles and their manager.

“They are a joy to watch and a joy to analyse,” he said. “They have the courage to play. I am a big fan of Graham Potter.”

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Chelsea 1 City 3: player ratings

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  CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy, 5 - Nothing the keeper could do about Gundogan’s accurate opener but could perhaps have forced the issue more against Raheem Sterling as the England man picked his spot before firing against the post, allowing de Bruyne to tap home the rebound. AP

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  Cesar Azpilicueta, 4 - A really poor day as the Spaniard was regularly beaten to the punch by a combination of Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne, while his poor positional play was exposed. Getty

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  Kurt Zouma, 5 - Another Chelsea defender who couldn’t live with the verve of City’s front three and it was a harsh reality check for a defender who has grown into his role at Stamford Bridge. AFP

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  Thiago Silva, 4 - The Brazilian has been superb since signing from Paris St Germain, but this was easily his worst display in a Chelsea shirt. The centre back failed to deny the space required by Gundogan to squeeze home the opener and failed to organise his defence during the visitors’ first-half blitz. AP

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  Ben Chilwell, 5 - Arguably his side’s best defender on the day and he did get forward during fleeting moments on the attack, but the former Leicester man still had his fair share of tricky moments against Raheem Sterling. PA

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  Mateo Kovacic, 4 - Twice gave possession away in dangerous areas and can count himself lucky that the ruthless City forwards didn’t punish him for it. Booked for a poor tackle on Kevin de Bruyne and replaced for the final 20 minutes or so by Kai Havertz. Getty

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  N’Golo Kante, 3 - A horrible day at the office that saw him regularly chasing shadows as City ran the Chelsea midfield ragged. His poor pass sparked a slick City counter that resulted in the visitors’ third and his lack of awareness could have cost his side more. Replaced by Billy Gilmour just after the hour. AP

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  Mason Mount, 6 - Found it tough to get a foothold in the game as City took control of all areas within the opening 15 minutes, but a bursting run and cross was rewarded with a good finish by substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi in the closing stages. AP

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  Hakim Ziyech, 4 - A game that largely passed the Moroccan by, with his only meaningful moment being an indirect free kick on the edge of the box that was charged down by the City defence. Replaced by Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 64th minute and will be lucky to start the next game. Getty

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  Christian Pulisic, 5 - Like Ziyech, the winger failed to really get into the game, although not through any real fault of his own. He failed to pull the trigger when he worked the ball well with Timo Werner in the first half, instead choosing to hold on and wasting the chance. AP

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  Timo Werner, 5 - He’s been waiting months to get his chance in a more central role, but the German still looks like a player who is low on confidence and he didn’t ever look like troubling City goalkeeper Zack Steffen. Getty

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  SUBS: Callum Hudson-Odoi (Ziyech, 64’), 6 - Busted a gut to get on the end of a low Mason Mount cross to slot home for 3-1. AFP

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  Billy Gilmour (Kante, 64’), 5 - The game was long gone by the time the young Scot was introduced. Getty

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  Kai Havertz (Kovacic, 77’) N/R - Never looked like inspiring a late comeback. AP

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  MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Zack Steffen, 6 - A bizarre moment saw the Premier League debutant pick up a Rodri backpass early on, but that was the only incident of note in a quiet afternoon between the sticks. AP

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  Joao Cancelo, 7 - Could have faced a tough time against the combination of Christian Pulisic and Ben Chilwell on the Chelsea left, but the Portugal international was excellent and didn’t give the pair a sniff. PA

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  John Stones, 7 - The former Everton man is clearly enjoying his City renaissance and didn’t put a foot wrong against opponents who struggled for creative spark in the final third. Getty

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  Ruben Dias, 7 - Had to be alert against a couple of Chelsea set pieces in the first half but it was an otherwise leisurely afternoon for the big-money signing from Benfica. AP

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  Oleksandr Zinchenko, 7 - With City maintaining their width via Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling didn’t see a great deal of the Ukrainian going forward, but he had an easy time of it against Hakim Ziyech. Getty

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  Rodri, 8 - An excellent afternoon’s work in which he quickly strangled any life out of a Chelsea midfield. The City No 16 stroked the ball across the pitch with ease and kept a lid on any glimmer of a Chelsea fightback. EPA

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  Bernardo Silva, 7 - Had moments where he could have got his name on the scoresheet, only for some last-ditch Chelsea defending to prevent a more significant impact. Booked for a poor challenge on Pulisic late on. Getty

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  Ilkay Gundogan, 8 - A fabulous turn and finish opened the scoring whilst making Thiago Silva look like an amateur and the German was the best player on the pitch in the first half. AFP

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  Phil Foden, 8 - The youngster has been starved of minutes recently but he took his goal brilliantly as he glided the ball home with a first-time effort, and on another day he could have had a couple more to his name. Brought off for the final few minutes and replaced by Riyad Mahrez. EPA

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  Raheem Sterling, 7 - Unfortunate not to score when he rounded Mendy and hit the post with a curling effort despite plenty of attention from Chelsea defenders, but the loose ball fell to de Bruyne, who tapped home. Getty

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  Kevin de Bruyne, 8 - Playing in a less familiar role as the central focal point of a front three, the Belgian was the beneficiary of some good fortune when Sterling’s effort cannoned off the post, allowing for an easy tap-in, and his movement caused the home back four a whole host of problems. AP

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  SUBS: Fernandinho (Gundogan, 75’), N/R – Slotted into midfield to help comfortably see the game out. AP

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  Sergio Aguero (de Bruyne, 86’), N/R – Too late for him to add to his impressive ten goals against Chelsea. AP

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  Riyad Mahrez (Foden, 86’), N/R – Unable to get into the game. AP

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City will still be without Sergio Aguero, who sat out Sunday's FA Cup win over Birmingham and is set to miss the weekend game against Crystal Palace. Their record goalscorer is self-isolating as a close contact of someone who tested positive for coronavirus.

Guardiola shrugged off concerns that the Argentinian, whose contract expires in the summer, will not return to his best for City.

“I wish [he will],” he said. “He is in a good mood or he was and now is isolating. He is going to need some more training sessions.

"The only important news is the last 10-15 days before isolating he was perfect and this is the best news. We are only in January. The best part of the season is coming and hopefully we can have him.”

Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker made comebacks at the weekend after recovering from Covid-19, while Ferran Torres and Tommy Doyle are back in contention now.

“I was impressed with what they did [on Sunday], especially Kyle playing 90 minutes,” Guardiola said. “Ferran and Tommy lost weight, they are a little bit skinnier, two or three kilos but that’s normal. Every player who suffers this Covid recovers differently.”