Guardiola praises Lampard for restricting him to ‘career low’ in Man City’s win over Chelsea

Pep Guardiola has praised Frank Lampard’s “brave” managerial style after Man City beat Chelsea 2-1, despite having to spend extended periods of the game out of possession.

The defending champions came from a goal behind to beat the west Londoners, leapfrogging them into third place in the Premier League table, but Man City didn’t have all their own way.

Lampard sets possession record: Five things to know…

• Man City had to come from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday.
• That win takes the defending champions above the Blues into third place.
• But Guardiola has heaped praise on the “bravery” shown by Lampard and his players.
• Chelsea restricted City to just 46.7% possession – the lowest amount of Guardiola’s entire top-flight managerial career.
• This was also Chelsea’s first league defeat since September.

Lampard’s men controlled the ball for large parts of the game and restricted Guardiola’s side to just 46.7% possession – the Catalan tactician’s lowest of his 381 matches as a top-flight manager so far.

And although Guardiola has dismissed this stat as a mere footnote, he has praised Lampard for his bravery as a manager.

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— Squawka (@Squawka) November 24, 2019

“There is always one thing in your lifetime that hasn’t happened,” he said when asked about being restricted to such a low amount of possession.

“It happened. So, OK, I have another record, I won one game without possession. They are an incredible team with [N’Golo] Kanté, [Mateo] Kovacic, Jorginho, so it can happen.

“We beat an incredible top side, Frank is a brave manager – courageous to play.

“Chelsea are an incredible team, we knew it but we beat them. It was a typical high-level game. Our back four played so good today. In the most difficult period of the game, we scored on the counter.”

Lampard disappointed with the “small details”

Despite falling to a first league defeat since September, Lampard was pleased with his side’s performance at the Etihad considering they gave the defending champions a serious run for their money.

However, he feels the “small details” were a defining factor between the two sides on the day and is looking for more care in that area from his players moving forward.

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“We were controlling the game, we were playing some great stuff and we felt in control but you can’t be absolutely in control against Manchester City,” he said.

“It was bad luck for their first goal [due to a deflection], and absolute quality from Riyad Mahrez for the second and that changed the game.

“Maybe we were a bit slow with our movement at the back, I know we were giving them a good game but I am disappointed with the small details. If you look at City they are an example, and we’re at the absolute start of that process.”