MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Smile a bit more and you will win was Pep Guardiola's halftime message to his Manchester City team and it worked out well as they beat Sheffield United 2-0 on Saturday.
City will end 2023 unbeaten on home soil, but three successive Premier League draws at The Etihad Stadium had shaken the confidence of his champions.
So while City had bossed the first half and led through Rodri's early strike, Guardiola detected negative vibes among his players as they walked in to the dressing room.
"(We were) uncomfortable the last three times we were here," the Spaniard told reporters after the win that lifted City into third place, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
"The first part was silent. The body language of players didn't communicate, talk, laugh, or shout. It was a little bit, 'okay we have to play'.
"At halftime for the first time I didn't talk one word about tactics -- I took a chair and said 'guys when you go out with a smile on your face and enjoy, we are going to win'.
"In the second half, the first 15 to 20 minutes was the best minutes we had, and that helped us win the game."
Julian Alvarez wrapped up the points as City brought their epic, treble-winning year to a close with a stress-free win.
FOURTH SUCCESSIVE TITLE
City seem to have overcome their wobble in form and with Kevin de Bruyne back for the first time since the opening day of the season and goal machine Erling Haaland also returning soon after injury, City seem well placed for a surge that could take them to a fourth successive Premier League title.
"We made in the past a lot of winning streaks, but never during that time did we think how many we were going to win," Guardiola said. "We only thought about the next game.
"We felt in title races against Liverpool that if we lose a game we are not going to win the Premier League and that's why they pushed us to the highest level.
"The position we are in is more than fine. We are going to lose games, they are going to lose games. We're trying to lose as few as possible."
As well as winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and, for the first time, the Champions League to claim the treble, City were also crowned world champions last week.
But they are not about to relax in 2024.
"It's been incredible, as a team and for me, 2023 has been the best year and I'm so glad for that," Rodri, who scored the goal against Inter Milan that won the Champions League in Istanbul in June, told the BBC.
"I think this team wants even more, we want to have everyone back fit, and I think in the second half of the season will be even better."