Man City show they’re fighting for Guardiola with scrappy win at Sheffield

SHEFFIELD, England — Pep Guardiola says he will extend his stay at Manchester City only if he “deserves it” and his players are at least playing their part. Sheffield United were beaten 1-0 at Bramall Lane on Saturday to improve City’s unbeaten run in all competitions to seven games thanks to 45 minutes of beauty and 45 minutes of brawn.

It was fitting that Kyle Walker, making his 100th league appearance for the club in his home city (and against his first club), got the goal. He has done more than most during the first few games to aid Guardiola’s prospects of getting a new deal at the Etihad Stadium.

— Walker strike gives Man City a win at Sheffield United

Guardiola, into his fifth season at City, is getting fed up with questions about his contract. Asked at a news conference on Friday for an update, his answer was particularly short. “I’ve answered many times” was the curt response before taking a swig from the water bottle on his desk to indicate the line of questioning was over.

Faced with claims that Barcelona‘s presidential frontrunner, Victor Font, wants to bring him back to Camp Nou, Guardiola insisted he wants to stay in Manchester beyond next summer. City want him to stay, too, but while an extension remains unsigned, there is always going to be uncertainty.

What Guardiola has done, intentionally or not, is leave his options open. His record in charge of Barcelona between 2008 and 2012 means he will always be welcome back in Catalonia — something Font well knows — although asked again at Bramall Lane, Guardiola said he will only ever return as a supporter. Having collected league titles in Spain, Germany and England, there has been a stream of speculation about trying his hand in Italy with a move to Juventus. Taking charge of Qatar for their home World Cup in 2022 has also been floated.

After two Premier League titles and a domestic treble, Guardiola says he will not use results to judge if he deserves to stay, but rather whether or not his team is still playing for him. The way they sliced apart Sheffield United in the first half and battled away in the second was a timely reminder that they are.

Guardiola is an intense coach and mental fatigue is understandable, but there were no signs of throwing in the towel against Sheffield United — albeit a team struggling to come to terms with their second season back in the top flight. It’s now their worst start to a campaign since 1975.

“It was a really good game,” said Guardiola afterwards. “They play with a rhythm you don’t control. The first half we played really well, we created a lot of chances, but we struggled to score.”

By half-time, City had managed 10 shots with five on target, and only Aaron Ramsdale‘s intervention…