Man City captain's wonder-strike leaves champions on brink of Premier League title defence
Tuesday 7 May 2019 12:05, UK
Pep Guardiola says Vincent Kompany's future at Manchester City is yet to be decided, moments after the captain fired the club to within a victory of the title.
Kompany's sensational 30-yard strike secured a 1-0 victory over Leicester on Monday Night Football, as the champions ensured they remained in the driving seat in the title race heading into the final round of fixtures.
It means Kompany can lift the Premier League for the fourth time if City win at Brighton on Sunday, but it could prove to be his last, with Guardiola confirming talks are planned this summer over his future.
"At the end of the season, we are going to talk to Vincent, clearly, he knows," the City boss told his post-match press conference.
"He is an incredible human being, an incredible person, he helped me a lot. I was sad that we could not use him a lot for the process, but we always know we can count on his personality.
"This club is where it is thanks to guys like Vincent. At the end of the season, after the FA Cup, we are going to decide what is best for both parties.
"I said before that we will finish the season and after we are going to talk. I talked to him three weeks, one month ago.
"We spoke fluently two or three times about it being his last year and after we would take a beer together and going to decide what was best for him and the club. So, there are no problems about that."
City were frustrated and out of ideas against Leicester until Kompany intervened with a goal fit enough to settle any game - and perhaps the title race.
But that outcome was the last thing on Guardiola's mind when he saw the Belgian line up the audacious effort, adding: "Honestly, I wasn't too confident [when he shot] but football is mad for that.
"Don't shoot! Pass the ball, pass the ball! But, he took a good decision. The artists are the players, they have to decide things in a fraction of a second and what's important isn't the goal, it's him shooting while believing he was going to score.
"He's a big believer and that helped us to win the game. Now we don't have games every three days, he's not young and to be consistent is difficult for him every three days, but when we have a game once every week, he's an incredible player.
"There are important players in this club, more than a century of history and not a lot in the trophy cabinet, but there are players who helped us to be who we are today. Vincent Kompany is one of them. Not just for the goal, he has been a leader many times."
Victory on Monday night saw Manchester City respond to Liverpool's win at Newcastle and reopen their one-point lead ahead of the final day of the season.
Ahead of their season-defining trip to Brighton, Guardiola added: "One more game. We are so happy because today no win would have been almost impossible to win the title.
"The players are mature and know we have one more game left. Brighton took a result in the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal. We played them in FA Cup and know how tough it will be.
"They are strong with set-pieces. It is in our hands. We were seven points behind, so not far away."
