By their own meteoric standards, Manchester City have hit a rough patch this season, but let's be honest - all this nonsense about Pep Guardiola being a 'fraud' is a bit over the top, isn't it?
Yes, he may have had the crutch of substantial transfer funds wherever he has gone as a coach, but so too have many big names in management and very few have ever enjoyed a level of success comparable to the Spaniard.
The man with eight domestic league titles and two Champions Leagues to his name in 11 years in management might have overseen a start to the season in which City have managed just the 13 wins in 20 games, the worst in his career so far by a distance. He's anything but a failure, however, and the stats continue to prove it.
Pep Guardiola has won for the 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th time in the PL, his 134th league game as @ManCity manager.
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 29, 2019
He has reached 100 PL managerial wins in the fewest number of games, breaking the record of Jose Mourinho who did so in 142 games pic.twitter.com/noTwckAWrk
The 2-0 victory over Sheffield United was his 100th in the Premier League, a feat he has achieved in just 134 games. It makes him the quickest ever to reach the landmark in the division, ahead of José Mourinho, who took 142 games to get there.
In his three-and-a-half seasons at City, Guardiola has so far claimed as many as seven domestic honours in England, putting him one behind Mourinho on that front. Both the EFL Cup and the FA Cup are well within his reach even if the Premier League looks to have gone, however, and a win in one of those two competitions would put him level there, having spent around half the time in England that Mourinho has.
That's provided Mourinho finishes the season trophy-less with Tottenham, of course. The Portuguese boss made his return to English football in December, and we have only a month to wait until the two great rivals go head to head once again on 2 February.
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Source : 90min