Manchester City star Josko Gvardiol revealed why he snubbed the opportunity to take a penalty against Fulham despite having already scored two goals.
Gvardiol has been in exceptional form in front of goal as Manchester City close in on a fourth successive Premier League title.
The defender has scored five goals in his last seven games, including two as City despatched Fulham 4-0 to return to the Premier League summit.
However, when presented with the opportunity to net a third from the spot, the former Leipzig man passed on the responsibility to the club’s more regular taker Julian Alvarez.
That was despite the fact that Gvardiol was just one succesful spot-kick away from making Premier League history, with no defender having ever scored a hat-trick since the league’s inception.
Speaking to TNT Sport about the incident, he said: “Another two goals, I’m happy. Of course, a clean sheet. We were discussing about me taking the penalty.
“I said of course I would like to take it but we know who the taker is and he takes. So in the end it was Julian and I’m happy for him to score the goal.”
On his uncharacteristic relentlessness in front of goal, Gvardiol added: “No, it’s normal. It’s normal in sport.
“Currently, I’m in good form and the end of the season is coming. Three more finals. We’ve got to be ready.
“We just need to be focussed on ourselves and keep going that way.
“Of course, we talk about [the title race]. As you can see we are trying to get there.
“But it’s not easy because Arsenal have quality as well. They are doing quite well as well.”
Arsenal can return to the top of the table with a victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
However, City have a game in hand over Mikel Arteta’s side and know that should they win their final two games of the campaign they will be crowned champions.
