Guardiola will let Lillo get on with the job

PEP Guardiola will leave Juanma Lillo to make the decisions in charge of City for the next two games, if history is anything to go by.

- JOE BRAY

Guardiola is the Blues' best-ever manager, taking them to 15 trophies including the European Cup. He has managed 417 games for the Blues to date, winning 308 with a win percentage of 73 per cent.

City's success is the result of years of planning, hundreds of people working at the top of their game, and a collective mentality throughout the club - but it equally wouldn't have been possible without Guardiola.

This season, Guardiola is facing another rebuild after some key departures and a long-term injury to Kevin de Bruyne. The victories have kept coming with three wins from three so far, but the injury-hit squad will need guiding through the next few weeks to keep that early momentum going.

It's a setback, then, that Guardiola will miss the next two games at least having undergone emergency back surgery this week. Returning assistant coach Juanma Lillo will take charge against Sheffield United and Fulham and he may look to Mikel Arteta and Rodolfo Borrell for advice on how to manage City in Guardiola's absence.

Guardiola has only missed two games in his City tenure the FA Cup win at Swindon in 2022, and the Champions League defeat to Lyon in 2018.

Lillo was also absent for the trip to Swindon as the City camp was affected by Covid, leaving assistant manager Borrell in charge at the County Ground.