There’s no need to say anything from time to time.
When expressive at the touchline, just like Pep Guardiola, visual evidence is sufficient to assess the importance of opportunity.
Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa had a long period of thin, intense rage in penalties against his team after referee Craig Pawson was told to stop the game to check for Jacob Ramsey’s Reuben Diaz’s “foul.”
Most thought of video assistant referee (VAR) John Brooks was right. Guardiola was not among them. He shook his head and angered the coach on the bench before setting up Tillard towards the nearby fourth official.
Guardiola was reserved for his emotional response, but he felt wrong. He was still forcibly shaking his head. His face was set like a stone.
There was then a demand for more noise, with city fans gestures on every part of the ground to raise volume, and James McAtee’s delicate lob fell on the wrong side of the post, so there was a familiar sink in his knees.
Finally there was the tension release of the winner of Matheus Nunes’ injury time. Guardiola responded as if he had acquired himself, acknowledging the noise from fans he had wanted more before.
There was a storm of pitch as the whistle was blown away and hugged him for a joke with Nunes, laughter and Kevin de Bruin.
Without a doubt, this victory was a big deal.
“You don’t need to be a scientist to realize that we’re playing against Aston Villa, one of the best teams, as we saw against Newcastle and PSG,” Guardiola said.
“They are an extraordinary team, but we performed with commitment, as we did in the past.
“Of course, Champions League qualifying is important, but sometimes you have to settle down. After a few days preparing for the four ‘finals’.
That means Guardiola will be the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, then returned to the Premier League for a key game with the Wolves, kicking out Southampton before the final two – Bournemouth on Fulham away – on another trip to Wembley.
