We are seeing something new from Pep Guardiola - Man City fans will enjoy it
Manchester City sang it as loudly at Leicester as they did at home to Sunderland 500 games earlier.
"We've got Guardiola" boomed out across the King Power Stadium at full-time, Erling Haaland practically shoved the boss over to the supporters to help conduct his own song, and the cameras stayed with a manager who could not help smiling. For a short time in the aftermath of City's win on Sunday, it felt like old times.
Except the Blues are still in crisis, as much of the performance behind these valuable three points showed. City's manager did not hide the fact that they had again struggled, simply hoping that the result can help build up the confidence of his shattered team.
READ MORE: Man City make major Claudio Echeverri call ahead of January transfer window
Guardiola has been shattered during the worst run of his managerial career and no wonder: everyone from players and media is expecting him to get his magic wand out again and a man known for overthinking has been racking his brain for every possible solution in the hours when he should be sleeping. As he celebrated his 500th game in charge, he joked afterwards that the last 13 or 14 games have felt like 500 months.
One thing the serial winner has done is invite everybody into his lonely quest to find a way to stop his team from losing. There have been some press conferences where Guardiola has simply not been in the mood, and fair enough, but far more where it has almost felt like a therapy session as the manager has done his thinking out loud and come out with some extraordinary things about a team that have won it all.
Leicester's post-match verdict definitely fell into the latter category, from admitting that this team may not get back to the level they were at to talking about mistakes he has made and the toughest part of this struggle. City, essentially, are not what they seem because they are mentally shot.
"The starting XI today was really good, against Everton was really good, against Aston Villa was really good," said Guardiola. "It was more in our minds. Intervening in the minds of the players is not easy, it is the toughest job."
As Guardiola attempts to get into the minds of the players, he is letting everyone inside his own head in a way that he never has before. Understandably he did not want to give away the secrets behind City's success while they were enjoying them but it took a long time for the manager to open up on some of the team's biggest Champions League setbacks.
City fans have loved having Guardiola as their manager despite the few lows because it has been special to watch and he has given them memories they never thought they would manage in their lifetime. As they look to him to pull the Blues out of their current slump, he is opening up like never before in his effort to create more unreal experiences - and everyone is better for it.
