A VILLA CHILLER

Pep rewatches last season's City mauling by Villans and insists: We deserved nothing that day but this is a totally different side

- BY TYRONE MARSHALL

PEP GUARDIOLA loves to put himself through it when the going gets tough at Manchester City it's what makes him one of the world's best managers.

So the 54-year-old Catalan sat down on Thursday to watch the video nasty that was City's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa last December.

It was the nightmare before Christmas, extending a dismal run of form that derailed City's season.

But as they prepare to head back down the M6 for Villa Park, life is looking a lot brighter for Pep and Co. They are nine games unbeaten, well placed to progress in the Champions League and firmly back in the Premier League title race, but the foundations for their renewed optimism were laid in the second half of last season. Guardiola said:

"I saw the game yesterday (against Villa in December). We didn't have energy, we didn't deserve anything.

"Always I want my team to deserve what they achieve. Sometimes it doesn't happen, sometimes you play better and don't win. That's football.