Guardiola secures Barclays Manager of the Month award

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been named the Barclays Manager of the Month for February for the first time since arriving in England.

The former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager has led City to third place in the table, having started February outside of the top four, after picking up nine points out of a possible nine.

The 46-year-old beat Chelsea’s Antonio Conte, Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho, and West Brom’s Tony Pulis to the gong, his first Manager of the Month award since taking over at the Etihad Stadium in the summer.

The Citizens thumped West Ham 4-0 at the London Stadium on February 1, before securing a last-minute victory over struggling Swansea four days later, with a Gabriel Jesus double inspiring the hosts to a 2-1 success at the Etihad Stadium.

Their last Premier League game of the month came all the way back on February 13, with goals from Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero powering Guardiola’s men to a 2-0 win at Bournemouth.

FA Cup clashes meant that City only played three league games during February, and they have since built on their form last month with a 2-0 success at Sunderland last weekend, although they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at home by Stoke City on Wednesday.

That result earlier in the week means that Guardiola’s side remain third in the table, ten points behind leaders Chelsea.