Dinho launches a new era in City’s midfield

FERNANDINHO let a curious little phrase slip into his answer when a reporter asked him a gentle question about his form.

“Since I came here I have improved a lot, especially in the last year. Pep has helped me a lot and I have more confidence now,” he said.

It is difficult to imagine that a player of his stature, who was a stalwart of the 2014 title-winning side and has become a regular for Brazil, suffers from a lack of confidence.

It seems more likely that the City star, whose English is excellent – even though he watched Coronation Street to learn it – meant something slightly different.

Maybe he meant that, rather than having more confidence in himself, that the manager has more confidence in him.

The transformation of the amiable Brazilian is now complete under Guardiola, to the point that he is the fulcrum of this exciting side.

He links the progressively-minded defence with that fabulous front five, giving extra security to the former and a sound platform for the latter.

And that has allowed Guardiola to let go of Yaya Toure, who was the heartbeat of the title-winning teams of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini.

Fernandinho was a box-to-box man when he made his name with Shakhtar Donetsk, scoring goals at one end and putting in tackles at the other.

That is why Pellegrini singled him out as the man to replace Gareth