CITY SPECIAL Leaving out Mangala: It was my decision to stay at City Leroy would be in-Sane...
ELIAQUIM Mangala has revealed it was HIS decision to stay at City on transfer deadline day.
And the France international has vowed to fight hard for his place after returning from last season’s loan at Valencia in a better frame of mind.
City were keen to move out the £42m signing in the summer, and were ready to accept a £23m bid from Crystal Palace hours before the window slammed shut.
That would probably have triggered a fresh City move for West Brom skipper Jonny Evans – but Mangala did not want to go to Selhurst Park, and both deals floundered.
Ironically, the 26-year-old made his first City start for 17 months in direct opposition to Evans, as the Blues beat West Brom in the Carabao Cup.
And Mangala had a good game at the heart of the Blues defence before explaining his reasoning in wanting to stay at a club that wanted to sell him.
“I said I want to stay, that was my decision,” he told M.E.N. Sport. “I know we have so many good quality players, but to win titles we want a squad.
“Last season was not a good season in terms of trophies as we didn’t win anything, so this year we want to win something.
“In football anything can happen, but finally I stayed at Manchester City, and that’s good. I am involved in the group and want to be involved in all competitions we are fighting for this season.
“I want to help the team when they need me – even when I don’t play I will support my mates and help them to be confident, to help in training.” SO what does a manager do when his City team produces a brilliant six-goal attacking display, but in the next game Leroy Sane is simply sensational?
The problem for Pep Guardiola does not come tomorrow, when Crystal Palace arrive at the Etihad Stadium, or even next Wednesday, with the visit of Shakhtar Donetsk.
No, his real headache will kick in when he sits down to pick his starting side for the trip to Chelsea at the end of next week.
Guardiola was the cat that got the cream as Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus ripped up Watford. And after he rested three of them, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Sane simply picked up the cudgels and dazzled West Brom for 45 minutes.
Sane has had a frustrating start to this season after his excellent debut campaign, starting five of the seven games on the bench this season so far.
But his two-goal display in the Carabao Cup win at The Hawthorns was a clear message to Guardiola “Drop me if you dare!”
The 21-year-old Germany star is smart enough to know that he might find himself back on the bench for the Palace game – but if so, it means he will start the Shakhtar game.
The same goes for the other stars who have made a pitch to the manager by playing so well in the past three games.
But the crunch will come against Chelsea. Any player in that squad who is happy at not being in the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge should pack his bags.
Right now, Sane HAS to play in that game. His display at West Brom was not just an exhibition of his skill, pace and ability to score goals – it also showed how he can physically withstand the toughest of Premier League defences.
And with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus also in the ‘must play’ category, who will be the fall guy? Nobody deserves to be dropped, or rested, or rotated, whatever you want to call it. But Raheem Sterling must be uppermost in Guardiola’s mind. He had a great first half at West Brom, but when City became a stunning blur of blue movement and precision at Vicarage Road, the England man was a level below the rest. Being a level below that mercurial display is no disgrace, and Sterling was still a real problem for the Watford defence. But he wavered between infuriatingly wasteful and devastatingly disruptive, while the others looked simply world-class. A front three of Sane, Aguero and Jesus looks extremely tasty, with David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne providing the ammo. Not that Sterling is being shunned – his brand of directness is especially effective against tiring defences, so he is the perfect weapon to hold in reserve at Chelsea.