A much-changed City side celebrated their CAS triumph with victory on the field against Bournemouth, pushing the visitors closer to the drop
Pep Guardiola has outstripped all of his peers past and present in the Premier League after racking up his latest victory at the helm of Manchester City.
With City in a festive mood following Monday’s decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn the club’s suspension from the Champions League, Wednesday saw Bournemouth visiting the Etihad Stadium for the latest round of league fixtures.
Pep took the opportunity to rotate his team, resting the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez, but it made little difference to the overall result as City ran out 2-1 winners.
David Silva and Gabriel Jesus both netted in the first half, meaning David Brooks’ late strike was little more than consolation for the Cherries, who find themselves in serious danger of going down to the Championship.
Not only was it City’s third consecutive Premier League victory, but it also brought up Pep’s 150th match in the English top flight, a run in which he has surpassed all previous managers in terms of success.
Wednesday’s clash was his 111th win on the bench, marking an outstanding strike-rate of almost 64 per cent.
111 – Pep Guardiola has won 111 of his first 150 Premier League games, six more than any other coach at this stage of their career in the competition. Master. pic.twitter.com/TJ3OWsZf8X
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2020
It is also more than any other man has achieved in the same time-frame, even Premier League legends such as Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson.
Current Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho sits second in the rankings, having picked up 105 victories from his first 150 matches.
Liverpool‘s Jurgen Klopp completes the podium with 92, followed by Ferguson (90) and ex-Reds, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle boss Kenny Dalglish (85).
Guardiola, of course, has the luxury of arguably the Premier League’s deepest, most distinguished squad of players at his disposal, and he has not shied away from changing up his first XIs over the course of the season.
137 – Manchester City have made 137 changes to their starting XI’s in the Premier League this season – the next closest side are Chelsea with 95. Pep’d. pic.twitter.com/JQxWtotrFY
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2020
Wednesday saw City make seven alterations from the starting line-up that downed Brighton at the weekend, taking them up to 137 in total in 2019-20 – far outstripping nearest challengers Chelsea, a long way back with 95.
City will be back in action in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal and continue their Premier League campaign the following Tuesday with their penultimate clash of the season, away to Watford.
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