I saw Guardiola’s angry reaction to innocuous moment & why its should ease Manchester City fans’ fears

The clock had ticked to just over three minutes at the Etihad, but Pep Guardiola was already shaking his head furiously.

Normally, the exacerbated body language is reserved for his player. On this time, however, his frustration was directed at the Manchester City ball boy.

No words were exchanged, no obvious indication that Guardiola was a bit miffed, other than a fervent clap of the hands and a sideways glance at the young lad on the sidelines after he’d trudged over to the ball a little lethargically.

In the ball boy’s defence, the game had barely got going as City hosted Ipswich Town in an encounter many - correctly - assumed they’d coast through. There was no City player near where the ball had run for a home throw-in, so the youngster could be excused for not seeing its immediate return to be an urgent requirement.

But that’s not the sort of standards Guardiola sets at City, and even in the opening moments against Ipswich he wanted to maintain a quick tempo and rhythm. That means getting the ball back right away.

From the dugout, Guardiola’s in-game antics sit somewhere between a conductor elegantly leading his orchestra, and Gordon Ramsey screaming at his failing kitchen staff. On Saturday, back at the Etihad for the first time in over three months, the six-time Premier League champion displayed the sort of simmering fervour his players both adore and find maddening.

Kevin De Bruyne memorably screamed at Guardiola to ‘shut up’ during a Champions League semi-final game against Real Madrid in 2023, on a night when he and City were at their brilliant best, winning 4-0. De Bruyne was on a similar wavelength on Saturday as City swotted Ipswich aside 4-1.

City’s no.17 scored one, set up another, demonstrated a remarkable range of passing into the wide areas and generally pulled the strings from midfield. Yet Guardiola still found things to quibble over and twice he pulled De Bruyne over to relay instructions, including after just 10 minutes, as the hosts waited for the VAR check that would ultimately result in their early penalty.

Guardiola also lambasted Ruben Dias for not switching the ball, constantly gave Rico Lewis feedback in the first half, and was seen screaming at Jack Grealish as the winger languidly put his shirt on before his 71st-minute substitution. ‘Do you even want to go on?’ was the general message conveyed.

It might seem over the top, but those peerless standards that have led to City winning six of the last seven titles - and you’d be brave to bet against them winning it again this season.

Guardiola’s passion and strive for perfection should only be viewed as a positive by City fans, especially given the last time he was at the stadium - as the Blues collected another Premier League title - the Catalan admitted his motivation was in short supply following another taxing season.

“After Istanbul I said: ‘It’s over, what am I doing here? There’s nothing left’. “I start to think that no-one has done four [league titles] in a row, why don’t we try? And now I feel it’s done, so what next?. I don’t know,” he said in May.

“Next season, right now, I am not able to know what is the motivation to do it because it is difficult to find it when everything is done.”

Within 10 days, reports that the 2024/25 campaign would be Guardiola’s last in England surfaced, and that remains a real possibility, even if the City manager has moved to cool some of the speculation and hint at a possible new contract. In the meantime, there’s no doubting that the drive or the will to win hasn’t left him.

“Right now I am here and as you arrive at the competitions my energy rises again, so I am fully excited for the season because I see things that I like,” Guardiola said at the start of the new season. “We will see, it’s a new challenge if we are able to break our own records.

“Last season we broke the record and never has it been done before. We will see what is the ambition of ourselves. I'm looking forward to us all coming back together and restart and we see how we will behave every day.”

There was never any prospect of Guardiola winging his final year at the Etihad, allowing the magic to slowly peter out. That’s simply not his style. But there may have been a slight fear among City fans that they might not get the 53-year-old at his absolute best, due to mental exhaustion and a lack of inspiration.

One game back at the Etihad should alleviate any concerns; Guardiola’s passion burns as brightly as ever. As the bally boys can attest to.