City in different league to PSG says Mignolet

SIMON MIGNOLET has warned the rest of Europe that facing Manchester City is tougher than playing Paris Saint-Germain.

Mignolet and Bruges were walloped 5-1 by City in the Champions League on Tuesday and the former Liverpool keeper said it was a harder game than their 1-1 draw with PSG last month.

“It’s the first time we played against a team where there is quality throughout, not just from three superstars,” said Mignolet, right, in reference to PSG’s Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

“That’s especially true in attack, where they switch positions and danger comes from everywhere.

“It’s the first time we had this challenge and it was harder than it was against Paris Saint-Germain.”

City’s conveyor belt is rolling out talent after talent and the latest, Cole Palmer, has huge potential.

Palmer, a 19-year-old from Wythenshawe, grabbed his first Champions League goal two and a half minutes after coming on against Bruges and has scored twice in his past three senior appearances.

Pep Guardiola was delighted by his willingness to play and score a hat-trick for their Under-23s against Leicester on Saturday, a couple of hours after coming off the bench for the senior team against Burnley.

“Some players might have thought, ‘I don’t want to play, I have another status’,” said the City boss.

Guardiola said he will dip Palmer in and out of first-team action as he did with Phil Foden.

“People want things immediately, but you can’t cook a good dish if you don’t spend time in the kitchen,” he added. “The best way to improve is to play. That’s why – when Cole’s schedule allows – every time he can play for the second team, he will.”

City are seeing a return on their huge investment in their academy and Guardiola is also excited about Liam Delap, 18, Romeo Lavia, 17, and Samuel Edozie, 18. “We have four, five, six real good players in the academy,” he said.