Pep just did the unthinkable: he traced today’s Premier League set-piece obsession back to Tony Pulis’s Stoke. Yes, Rory-Delap-era Stoke long throws like cruise missiles, corners weaponised, second balls hunted in packs.
Pep even nodded to Dyche and Allardyce as masters of the dark arts. That’s not a dig; it’s respect from the purist-in-chief.
And here’s the kicker: Guardiola says he still won’t compromise his principles… but he absolutely wants City squeezing more goals out of dead balls. That’s evolution, not surrender.
Zooming to City’s cup trip to Swansea, it’s rotation time minutes for the fringe, rhythm for the youngsters, and a chance to stress-test those set-piece tweaks away from the league glare.
It also lands right after the Villa stumble, where Pep’s post-match zen felt telling; the title race is a marathon, and City are, in his words, “still alive” the vibe captured perfectly here: Guardiola’s calm after Villa setback and where City go from here.
As a football romantic and tactics nerd, this is chef’s-kiss stuff: the league’s slickest possession machine openly admiring the grafter’s blueprint and plotting to fuse both. That’s how dynasties stay fresh.
