Pep Guardiola’s famous “Happy Flowers” outburst happened after Manchester City came back from being two goals down to beat Tottenham 4-2 in January. If they hadn’t won that game, we might not have known how he really felt.

That win turned out to be very important. Guardiola’s strong words about his own team marked a change that led to them winning three major trophies. Looking at City’s current situation before their next game against Tottenham, there are some similarities to that time in January.

City is playing well, but they could do better. They aren’t leading the Premier League, and some players aren’t in top form.

They’ve been letting in goals they should avoid, especially from fast attacks by the other team. They were losing 2-0 at halftime in their recent Champions League game against RB Leipzig and have been behind in several games this season.

It feels like City hasn’t reached their best yet, but that’s not unusual. In past seasons, they’ve often been less steady from August to Christmas, then start winning more from December into the New Year.

Back in January, Guardiola was upset that young player Rico Lewis was treated roughly by Tottenham and that neither the fans nor the club supported him enough. He said that City needed a better attitude to win titles.

This season, the team is more united, and the fans have been very supportive, especially after last season’s success. The stadium has been louder since Tottenham’s last visit. Even when they were losing on Tuesday, there was no panic.

So, Guardiola probably won’t need to make another big speech this weekend, unless things go very wrong. He seems to be in tune with his players, staff, and fans. Winning three trophies helps, but he knows they can still do better this season to repeat that success.

The upcoming game against Tottenham will be a good test to see where City stands. It could be another key moment, just like last season.