City’s anxious wait on £60m Mahrez
NEW £60M SIGNING MAHREZ COULD MISS START OF SEASON
CITY face an anxious wait to see whether Riyad Mahrez will be fit to start the season.
In a touring squad bereft of senior players owing to their involvement in the World Cup, £60m signing Mahrez has quickly shown exactly why Pep Guardiola was prepared to make him the club record signing .
But on Saturday the star went down clutching his ankle after a tangle with Bayern defender Chris Richards early on, and had to be substituted in the 27th minute.
He was pictured on crutches wearing a protective boot as the squad touched back down at Manchester Airport and will have to be assessed.
It is a problem Guardiola could have done without as he looks to ready his team for the Community Shield next Sunday and the Premier League opener at Arsenal a week later.
The City boss admitted immediately after the game that he did not know the details of the injury but is concerned for the beginning of the season.
“I don’t know [the extent]. I wasn’t in the locker room. It was his ankle. We will see, maybe it is not a problem.
“I’m concerned for many things, for injured players, players who are still not here but I am so satisfied for what all of the guys on the tour have done.”
CITY secured a 3-2 win after fighting back from two goals down against Bayern Munich in the last game of their International Champions Cup campaign.
Having already faced two defeats in their first games against Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, City dominated the opening moments but failed to capitalise on their chances as the German champions’ Meritan Shabani opened the scoring after 12 minutes.
Ten minutes later and Arjen Robben doubled Bayern’s lead after converting Franck Ribery’s pass, and things looked to be getting worse for the Premier League champions when new signing Riyad Mahrez was taken off injured in the first half.
His replacement Bernardo Silva narrowed the deficit just before the break, however, and 19-year-old Lukas Nmecha got City back into the game, equalising five minutes into the second half.
City continued to apply the pressure in the second half and Pep Guardiola’s decision to name six teenagers for the Miami squad paid off as 17-year-old substitute Adrian Bernabe played a part in Silva’s 70th-minute winner.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola said he did not know about the condition of Mahrez, who completed a five-year, £60m deal from Leicester City earlier this month.
But the Spaniard spoke highly of his young squad’s performance against his former club.
“We analysed our mistakes from the previous games and we played a lot better today. We started really well and had a lot of chances. We kept going and I am satisfied,” he told the club’s official website.
“We came here with a lot of young players and new players. So for them, it will be good for the future. It helps them to understand the game. I like to see my players fight for our team-mates and play like a humble team.
“You cannot imagine how much I have enjoyed these two weeks with these guys.
“The young guys have desire. They open their eyes and listen because they have their whole career ahead of them. I want to say thank you to them.”