Pep Guardiola blasts Premier League as he closes on Man City 'circle'

Pep Guardiola took another shot at the Premier League after Manchester City won the Super Cup.

An underwhelming performance from the Blues in Athens saw them fall behind in the first half to Sevilla, but Cole Palmer levelled the game in the second half and City emerged on top in the penalty shootout after the final effort from the Spanish side crashed off the crossbar.

Victory brings City a fourth trophy of the calendar year and builds on them winning the Champions League for the first time in their history. The Club World Cup in December offers the opportunity to win a fifth in 2023 and make more history with the club, but as good as that sounds there is a Premier League reality to bring the Blues back down to earth.

Having finished in Athens in the early hours of Thursday morning, City will take on Newcastle on Saturday evening in a kick-off time that is inconvenient for the team and supporters. There are other fixtures on Sunday and Monday and Guardiola's side do not have a midweek game, but TNT Sports - the same broadcaster who hosted the Super Cup - picking the game means that it had to be on Saturday.

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"I’m really pleased to have this one," said Guardiola. "Now we miss just one to finish our circle and have all the titles, that can happen in December when we go to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup. I’m really, really pleased.

"We lost in the last minute of the Community Shield against Arsenal from a deflection so football at this level is a coin. If they’d scored a second maybe it would be over but we had chances before the penalty kicks.

"Tomorrow we will be even happier than today when we recover, but not one drop of alcohol. We need to