Friday 20 October 2017 23:36, UK
Pep Guardiola says it is going to be impossible for Manchester City to maintain their impressive form, and is expecting a downturn sooner or later.
City are undefeated in all competitions so far this season. In fact, the only time they have failed to win was in a 1-1 draw at home to Everton in August.
It is not only City's winning form that has been impressive. They have scored 42 goals in 13 games so far, and conceded just six.
However, Guardiola is under no illusions, and expects his team to come unstuck at some point.
He said: "We are in October. We cannot expect to finish the season like we have done in the last month when we won all the games. It's impossible in football in the high level.
"But I want to see how we are going to react in that moment when we drop points. We will see how strong we are because teams always show in the bad moments.
"I'm optimistic because the way we reacted at 3-2 against Stoke was so good."
City's free-scoring attack has inevitably captured much of the attention, but Guardiola was keen to highlight the performances of one of his defenders.
Speaking of Nicolas Otamendi, Guardiola said: "He is one of the players with the strongest mentality I have met in my life.
"He's a guy who just wants to learn in terms of ball possession and he was always strong in the air.
"He really wins duels, which is especially necessary here in England, and he has the courage to play. Even when he makes mistakes it doesn't matter.
"I'm really impressed with the level he has and I'm so happy with him."
