Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola slammed the state of the pitch after the win at Nottingham Forest but said it ended up benefitting his side.
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- Forest missed big chances against City
- Guardiola said poor pitch helped his side
- Admitted his team were below par
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WHAT HAPPENED?
City had to scrap their way to an unconvincing 2-0 win over Forest and benefitted from some poor finishing from Forest striker Chris Wood and defender Murillo. And Guardiola said the home side only had themselves to blame for their profligacy due to the state of the pitch.
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WHAT GUARDIOLA SAID
"In certain moments we suffered,” Guardiola said to BBC Match of the Day. "We were lucky today the pitch was so dry, because the chances they missed that was the reason why. We were lucky today that the pitch was in these conditions."
The City boss added: “If the pitch had have been better with the [Forest] fast players, it would have been better for them. That’s for sure.”
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Guardiola also admitted that his side were far from their best against Forest. He said: "Really hard. Last season we draw and we played much better than today. Knowing the circumstances today. We knew the game today, we were so lucky. The last 30 mins, we suffered. When Kovacic came in, Bernardo, we were much better."
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DID YOU KNOW?
Guardiola had previously criticised Real Madrid for the state of the Santiago Bernabeu pitch after the Champions League quarter-final first leg with City.