All change for City under Pep

The Pep Guardiola revolution has begun at Manchester City both on and off the pitch and right-back Bacary Sagna has been impressed by the Spaniard’s methods.

City kicked off their Premier League campaign with a hard-fought win over Sunderland, as a late own goal from Paddy McNair earned them a 2-1 win.

And Sagna revealed that Guardiola’s pre-match routine had involved a training session on the day of the game, as well as more freedom on the eve of the game in terms of accommodation.

“The night before, we did not go to the hotel,” he said. “We trained in the morning to wake us up and be aware of what we needed to do. The way we prepared for the game was different to last season – I don’t want to say it was better, it’s just different.

“We had a training session at 11. We used to train sometimes with Manuel Pellegrini and it is not a bad idea compared to staying in your room or lying on your bed.

“It was just a short session. Nothing too much. Just enough to wake you up.”

(Stu Forster/Getty Images)

It’s not just before the game that things have changed however. Guardiola has altered the match-day nutrition with players filling up on nuts and salmon and prawn salads after the game rather than the previous regime of pizza and chicken goujons.

And Sagna explained that Guardiola has put a lot of faith in his squad to behave professionally in the lead-up to matches.

He added: “We have to be responsible and everyone is very professional. You have to go to bed early and think about the game. Everyone did.

“Everyone is professional about it. Everyone eats in a good way. Everyone is willing to work very hard and the first step is to be fit. To be fit, you have to eat healthy.”