Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola appeared at a press conference to talk about tomorrow’s match against Sunderland in the fifteenth round of the English Premier League.

He began his talk about the possibility of resting Aurelien: "Yes, maybe. That is why I rotated a lot against Bayer Leverkusen because we needed fresher legs. Look at what happened in the second half against Fulham, we no longer had the ability to run, there are many matches and a lot of energy consumed. We fell back against Bayer Leverkusen mainly because of lack of energy and weak rhythm, maybe he will get rest, but I don’t know when. He is young... very young, a teenager, and recovers quickly. We will see... day by day."

He added about Ryan Ait Nouri not playing: "Ryan performed very well in the Club World Cup. He played the first and second matches and then got injured, and after that, Nico Aurelien played excellently. That’s the only reason... there is no other reason, we are very happy with Ryan, and he will help us a lot. He knows the Premier League and can play both outside and inside, but now Nico is performing at a great level... and that is the only reason. For the players, it is difficult, and for you (journalists), with all due respect, it doesn’t matter... I don’t care at all. For the players, it is difficult, but that is the only reason."

When asked about the message he conveyed to the team after conceding 6 goals in the last two matches: "We scored three goals against Leeds and five against Fulham... You can see it from two sides, how many shots were on our goal against Leeds? Three. They scored two goals from them. Not good, but not bad, and Fulham? Maybe 5 or 6 shots? The conversion rate of shots to goals is high, and of course, we have to improve."

He continued: "We will talk today or tomorrow morning. But we are facing a completely different opponent. Fulham plays differently. Sunderland has enormous physical strength, and not only that... they have very good concepts with and without the ball. Of course, I don’t like conceding 6 goals in two matches, but we have to build on that and fix these issues. We can be better, create chances, and score goals because the team was built for that... but we have to be more solid. This is everyone’s duty, not just the goalkeepers or defenders."

About Sunderland, he said: "From my humble point of view... they fully deserve what they have reached. After 14 rounds in the Premier League against these teams, you can’t be there by chance. They have 5 or 6 things they consistently do excellently. It is a big challenge for us."

Regarding the thrilling 5-4 win against Fulham: "It’s forgotten. You have to learn from what happened and then move on. I’m worried because we conceded four, but we have to understand the reasons. We were not good in the first half. Fulham is a good team... and this is part of the development process."

He concluded about Rodri’s readiness: "Rodri: Not available, but he is improving, I don’t know how long it will take, but he is at a stage where he will be ready within a few weeks. Will he be present against Real Madrid? Ask me in Madrid during the match press conference."