Pep Guardiola explains the reason behind John Stones improvement for Man City

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola asked his Manchester City side for the same level of intensity in the second half of their Carabao Cup semi-final win over Manchester United to book their place in a fourth successive final.City and United had exchanged blows in the opening 45 minutes, with both sides having goals ruled out for offside and both goalkeepers making superb saves.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola is confident that Kevin De Bruyne will sign a new contract at Manchester City despite the absence of a breakthrough in negotiations. The Blues are keen to tie the 2019/20 Premier League Player of the Year down to a bumper deal that will commit him to the club beyond the terms of his current contract that expires in 2023.

straight to your inboxPhil Foden should be starting every game for Manchester City from now on, according to Micah Richards.Foden starred as City beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in Sunday's Premier League clash. The England international has not been a regular starter for Pep Guardiola 's side this season.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola has told Benjamin Mendy's critics to look themselves in the mirror after suggesting the Manchester City defender wasn't the only person to break Covid-19 rules on New Year's Eve. City have launched an investigation after Mendy's breach of protocols when he invited a small number of friends and family around to celebrate the New Year.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola insists Benjamin Mendy will learn from his mistake after he was forced to apologise for breaching Covid-19 protocols on New Year's Eve. A report in The Sun said Mendy hosted friends for New Year's celebrations in a move that was against regulations concerning the virus.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola trusts the Premier League to make the right decision on a potential circuit breaker as Manchester City prepare for their game with Chelsea without five players or a fully open training ground as a result of Covid-19. Having already seen one match this week postponed, the Blues need to hope that the additional testing done on Thursday and Saturday gives them the all-clear to go ahead with the Chelsea game on Sunday.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola blasted Everton for their reaction to the postponement of their Premier League game with Manchester City and insisted that he had personally phoned Carlo Ancelotti to inform him of the situation.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has been named as the best coach of the Century for 2001-2020. The Manchester City manager has been recognised for the prestigious award, presented by Globe Soccer, for his record at Barcelona B, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

straight to your inboxMicah Richards says he is looking for more from Riyad Mahrez's end product on a consistent basis.The Manchester City star found the net in his side's 4-1 Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal, curling in a free-kick that should have been saved by Gunners goalkeeper Runar Runarsson.Yet the Icelandic international let the free-kick through his hands, giving Mahrez his fifth goal of the season.Mahrez previously scored a hat-trick in City's 5-0 win over Burnley but has struggled to

straight to your inboxJamie Carragher named John Stones as his 'player to watch' in 2021 after the defender's recent renaissance with Manchester City.The England defender looked destined to leave the club in the summer after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola and barely featuring at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola suggests that John Stones is the perfect partner for new signing Ruben Dias.The Manchester City manager added Dias to his defensive ranks from Benfica in the summer for a club record fee, offset by Nicolas Otamendi moving the other way.

straight to your inbox Sergio Aguero missed two days of training after Manchester City's Premier League draw with West Brom due to a new injury problem. Aguero played 14 minutes in the West Brom game, his first league appearance since October, as Pep Guardiola tries to manage the return of his star striker.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola was full of praise for Kevin De Bruyne as the Manchester City midfielder was voted into the 2020 FIFA FIFPro World XI.Every year FIFA and FIFPro aim to recognise the best players in world football, with voting ballots sent out to players across the globe to decide on the stars that have most impressed them over the past 12 months. A shortlist of 55 are then whittled down to just one team and De Bruyne has made the final cut.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola questioned the decision to only award four minutes of injury time in Manchester City's game with West Bromwich Albion.The City coach was seen in frenzied discussion with fourth official Anthony Taylor as the electronic board was about to go up to signal four minutes with the game poised at 1-1.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola thinks that the Premier League is moving into a different phase of the season now the Champions League group stages are out of the way. Manchester City's manager has regularly raised the physical and mental battle of the teams that have had to play European football in a condensed schedule - especially for the Blues and other teams that went deep in continental competitions in August while their domestic rivals were able to recuperate.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola decided against bringing on more than one substitute during Manchester City's goalless draw at Old Trafford because he felt his players were "sharp". The City boss has been a strong advocate of the Premier League bringing in five substitutions this season but he's now only used five replacements in the last four games, two of which very injury-enforced.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer clarified Manchester United produced their 'best' performance under him in a Manchester derby because of their control and possession in the soporific goalless draw with Manchester CityUnited beat City three times last season, with their Premier League win at the Etihad underpinned by scintillating counter-attacking football, yet Solskjaer rhapsodized about their performance in Saturday's unwatchable stalemate.