This archive report was first published on 10 August 2019.
On Saturday, Manchester City kicked off their title defense with a resounding 5-0 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium, marking their eighth consecutive win against the Hammers.
Manchester City's Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a close-range finish after a swift cross from Kyle Walker.
England forward Raheem Sterling then scored a hat-trick, with his first goal coming six minutes into the second half after a fine move involving Kevin De Bruyne.
However, Jesus' second goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the 53rd minute, as Sterling was deemed marginally offside.
VAR played a crucial role in the match, validating Sterling's second goal and ruling in favor of Manchester City in several other instances.
Despite a slow start, Manchester City's second-half performance was impressive, with Guardiola praising his team's calmness and composure.
"It was difficult away from home, 1230 kick-off, hot. The first half was not good. We didn’t control second balls and lost a lot of balls," Guardiola said.
"The second half was much better. More calm, but still we have many things to improve," he added.
Guardiola also emphasized the importance of mental strength in dealing with VAR decisions, saying, "You have to be mentally strong when VAR is not on your side. You think at 0-3 the game is almost over but at 0-2, the game is completely different. You have to be calm and be strong, it is going to change the dynamic not just for the team but for the spectators," he said.
