MANCHESTER CITY allowed their players’ partners to attend the club’s Christmas party as they look to resurrect their disastrous season.
Pep Guardiola’s men have won just one of their last 12 games in all competitions and have lost their last three.
It means they sit bottom of the Premier League form table since the beginning of November, picking up just four points from eight games.
Dropping to seventh at Christmas, Guardiola recently admitted he is “not good enough”.
But he will be hoping the Christmas party went some way to improving morale in the squad.
Pictures shared on Instagram showed Ilkay Gundogan posing with wife Sara alongside Bernardo Silva and his partner Ines Degener Tomaz.
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And in another snap Kevin de Bruyne shared a kiss with wife Michele Lacroix.
Premier League clubs’ Christmas parties do not usually include players’ partners, though it is not known whether this is the custom for Man City.
Nevertheless, Guardiola will be eager to ensure his squad is in the right frame of mind for their clash with Everton at the Etihad on Boxing Day.
A fifth successive Premier League title already seems out of reach for the defending champions.
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Man City sit 12 points adrift of table toppers Liverpool and have played one more game.
However, they do now have a more favourable set of fixtures as they prepare to face Premier League games against Everton, Leicester, West Ham, Brentford and Ipswich.
Guardiola isn’t taking any chances with their Boxing Day clash against Everton either.
The Spanish tactician revealed that he and his players will be STAYING OVER at the club’s training ground on Christmas Day ahead of the 12:30pm kick off on the 26th.
When asked about his side’s preparations for the Toffees game, he said: “We train today (Tuesday), we train tomorrow (Wednesday) night, we will stay over here and we are going to play on Boxing Day.”
City’s stars were given time to spend with their families earlier in the week and were able to spend Christmas morning and afternoon with their loved ones before heading to the Etihad Campus for their evening training session later in the day.
Guardiola claimed he hoped his players wouldn’t mind being at work for the evening, explaining it’s part of their job.
He added: “Hopefully they want to be here, because it’s our job.”
It’s common practice for squads to get together on Christmas Day, especially when playing on Boxing Day.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
