Pep Guardiola wins Premier League award days after City’s UCL loss to Madrid
By Luke Oluoch, March 13, 2026Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola has been named the Premier League manager of the month for February, days after his club endured a tough Champions League night against European giants Real Madrid.
Guardiola held off Keith Andrews of Brentford, Manchester United’s Michael Carrick, and Arne Slot to emerge as the pick of the month.
The accolade is the Spaniard’s first since December 2021, when he last won it.
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During the month, City enjoyed an unbeaten campaign, winning four and drawing only one of their five league games.
The fixtures included the famous victory at Anfield, where a late penalty from Erling Haaland saw the Citizens flip the script on the reigning champions for a 2-1 victory.
Double Delight
As well as Pep’s award, new signing Antoine Semenyo has been voted as the league’s most outstanding player of the month, completing a delightful double for the Manchester club.
The January acquisition from Bournemouth FC has wasted little time in hitting the ground running at City.
In the five games in February 2026, the winger scored three times and provided an assist.
The Ghanaian star shrugged off competition from fellow nominees Dango Ouattara of Brentford, Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal, teammate Nico O’Reilly, and Virgil van Dijk for the award.
Meanwhile, the Spanish boss has little time to celebrate as he angles to lead his team in the league this weekend.
City faces a tricky test against West Ham United on Saturday, March 14, 2026. With the significance of the tie not lost on the tactician whose team is chasing silverware from several fronts.
“I’ve always said when we arrive at the last 10 games, every team plays for something. For relegation, for Champions League. Now, there are no second chances. The Premier League is the most difficult title; the Premier League, I believe, is the most difficult one, and still we are there knowing that if we drop points it will be over,” he stated.
The clash kicks off at 8:00 pm, with title rivals Arsenal kicking off against Everton at 5:30 pm in an earlier fixture.