GUARDIOLA EXPECTS STRONG FINISH TO SEASON

PEP Guardiola is relishing the prospect of making the best team in 2025 even stronger in 2026 with Rodri back in the Manchester City squad.

- By SIMON BAJKOWSKI

The Ballon d'Or winner returned to the bench against Nottingham Forest and City are hopeful that he can play an important part in their push for silverware in the coming months.

Last season was one of Guardiola's worst in management as an injury crisis in the squad triggered weaknesses that they were unable to overcome.

At their worst, the Blues lost nine out of 12 games in all competitions between October and December 2024 as they crashed out of Premier League and Champions League contention.

However, a £175m spend in the January transfer window stabilised the team with Omar Marmoush in particular a key figure in a team that did enough to reach the FA Cup final and earn Champions League football for this season. For all the perception around the drop-off last season, their revival came early enough to mean that no team won more Premier League games than them last year, or had a higher points per-game tally in 2025 than the Blues.

"Before the start of last season I said I never expected to go to the transfer window in winter time and in the end we bought three or four players because we didn't have players," said Guardiola.