Pep Guardiola reveals what he told ball boy in Manchester City’s 5-0 Premier League rout of Crystal Palace
Etihad chief admits he made the wide-eyed lad part of his tactical changes - as he ramped up the pace and the pressure on the Premier League's bottom side
PEP GUARDIOLA has spilled the beans over his private chat with a ball-boy that helped transform Manchester City in their 5-0 deomoliton of Crystal Palace.
The Etihad chief admits he made the lad part of his tactical changes as he ramped up the pace and the pressure on the Premier League's bottom side.
Guardiola intrigued fans and TV viewers by putting his arm around the boy's shoulder and cupping his mouth as he whispered instructions.
Leaders City have bagged 21 goals from their six League games, four more than second-placed Manchester United - with Chelsea and Liverpool next best on 12.
But they only hit their free-roaming, free-scoring best against Palace on Saturday after Guardiola's chat with the ball boy.
Leroy Sane hit a stylish opener on 44 minutes and Raheem Sterling struck twice before the hour.
Sergio Aguero and substitute Faban Delph then added late gloss.
Guardiola said of his surprise intervention with the wide-eyed youth: "If you analyse 30 minutes in the first half, we were not ready to be there.
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"Maybe over 90 minutes you cannot be there all the time. But it was slow.
"If there was a foul, no-one went to take the ball and start to play.
"There was five, ten seconds before someone goes to take the ball and start to play. When this happens everything is slow.
"So the ball boys were slow, everybody was slow.
"And we have to create in the game, to provoke the game. And we didn't for most of the time in the first half.
"In the second half, you could see immediately that the team was ready."
Former Barcelona and Bayern chief Guardiola is well known for his forward-thinking and tactical innovation.
So perhaps we will soon see Etihad earpieces for ball-boys!
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