GIANT poster inside!
CITY players have been urged by Pep Guardiola to make as much history as they can in the final week of the season.
A 3-1 win over Brighton on Wednesday set new Premier League records for the most goals (105), points (97) and wins (31) achieved in a single campaign.
But there is still unfinished business, and the team will head to Southampton hungry for the three points required to hit the 100-point mark. “The manager and all the staff told us they wanted it, they said ‘let’s break the records because it will be something special’,” said Bernardo Silva.
“All the staff have said to us, now we’ve broken all the records, we want to go for the three digits – 100 points. It’s something nobody ever did before and we want to do it.”
LEROY Sane partied so hard at City’s celebration party at the weekend he left his manager worried.
The German international underwhelmed as a middling team display saw the team draw 0-0 with Huddersfield on Sunday but perked up for their coronation.
Sane had already been seen running with champagne to the dressing room before the players came out to lift the trophy and was then the life and soul at Mayfield Depot as 600 club employees celebrated long into the night.
Pep Guardiola could not help but notice Sane’s dance moves on the night but opted to give the PFA Young Player of the Year another start in Wednesday’s game with Brighton.
As Raheem Sterling had done the week before at West Ham, Sane brought his silky moves to the pitch and came up with three assists to keep City’s quest for 100 points alive with one game to go.
Despite some inconsistent performances and an ability to frustrate when he is not at his best, the 22-year-old has had a remarkably productive campaign in his second year in the Premier League.
That trio of assists takes him to 15 for the season in the league, level with Kevin De Bruyne and four more than anybody else (incidentally, City players occupy the top four spots in the charts).
With ten goals also to his name – twice the number he managed last season – Sane will be taking prolific form into this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
If pre-season last year, when Guardiola was not impressed with the player’s attitude, does not serve as a reminder that he cannot afford to let his level drop, the talent running through the rest of the squad should. But there is a clear feeling that supporters have not come close to seeing the best of a player with many peak years to come, which can only be exciting for everyone but opposition defenders in the future. “What I like the most with Leroy, seeing his outstanding performance, finishing the game, and I felt he could do better,” the manager said. “That is the best that can happen because I think his season was a lot of games and it’s not easy being a full-back to face Leroy. “But he’s young and of course in the stages of the Champions League it’s another level, some contenders will be tougher. “But [Wednesday] was excellent because in the party three days ago he danced a lot and I was scared about his level. “But he danced good and he played good too.”
What I like most with Leroy is seeing his outstanding performance Pep Guardiola on Leroy Sane