Pep Guardiola SLAMS Man City trio Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes and insists his midfielders ‘made things more difficult’ by not following instructions against Wolves

• Pep Guardiola has slammed three Man City players after their defeat to Wolves 
• He said Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes weren’t good enough
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Pep Guardiola read the riot act to Ruben Dias and Mateo Kovacic for not following instructions as Manchester City were denied a slice of Premier League history.

Guardiola also accused Matheus Nunes of lacking dynamism, as he subbed him at half-time in the 2-1 defeat at Molineux.

The Treble winners missed out on the chance to set a club record seven straight Premier League wins to start a top-flight season.

Dias’s own goal and Hwang Hee-chan’s second-half strike saw Gary O’Neil’s side make it a miserable afternoon for the champions.

Julian Alvarez’s 58th-minute free kick was too little, too late for City, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time since January.

Pep Guardiola read the riot act to Ruben Dias and Mateo Kovacic for not following instructions against Wolves

Kovacic (left) and Dias (right) were criticised for ‘making it more difficult’ by Guardiola

Matheus Nunes was also criticised after being substituted at half-time against his former club

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‘We didn’t do our process properly to attack with a little more fluidity and that’s why we struggled a little bit in the transitions,’ said Guardiola.

‘When the opposition defends that well, Kovacic or Ruben has to attack the central defenders of the opponents — and we didn’t do it. That’s why it was more difficult.

‘But it was always going to be a difficult game and we knew it, and they defended really well in all situations.

‘The players know exactly what they have to do — they have done it I don’t know how many times since I’ve been here. This always makes it more difficult.’

Nunes, who was replaced by Oscar Bobb at half-time, wasn’t spared by Guardiola either. ‘I needed more dynamic and I wanted more in the small spaces and Oscar is really good at finding those with the creativity he has.’

Erling Haaland had just one shot and 10 touches after being marked out of the game by Craig Dawson and Max Kilman.

‘It’s not easy when you have three players around you — a lot of players around him,’ said Guardiola.

Guardiola was forced to watch the game from the stand after being suspended because of three yellow cards under a new Premier League rule

Guardiola was forced to watch the game from the stand after being suspended because of three yellow cards under a new Premier League rule.

He admitted he had no problem with his vantage point, but would prefer to be in the technical area.

‘The view is perfect. The problem with a ban is you have to be in the hotel, but they allow you to be here, so thank you so much to the Premier League because in the Champions League, it cannot happen,’ he said.

‘So I spoke to the players in the hotel, before the game, at half-time and after the game. The chicken in the lounge is nice but I prefer to be nearer the players and to smell the grass.’

City’s league rivals Arsenal narrowed the gap to within a point with a 4-0 win at Bournemouth. But Guardiola felt the result won’t have a bearing on the title race.

‘Today I’m pretty sure we didn’t lose the Premier League,’ he said. ‘We could have done something this club has never done before, seven in a row. But the opponent played really good and defended really well.

‘Whoever made contact — Hwang Hee-chan, Matheus Cunha or Pedro Neto — they had the ability to keep the ball, drive it, dribble with the ball and drop you, they are fantastic. I told them they’re a top team.’

O’Neil said: ‘It was probably my biggest win as a manager because City are the best side in the world at the moment.

‘But it wasn’t me — it was down to the players executing the game plan perfectly.’

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