I’VE NO PROBLEM WITH SANE, SAYS PEP
CITY’S DEMOLITION CREW SMASH THEIR WAY THROUGH THE TOON ARMY’S DEFENSIVE RANKS WITH A WINNING GOAL FROM AN UNLIKELY HERO
PEP Guardiola insisted he was happy with Leroy Sane’s attitude after dropping him for the win over Newcastle.
Despite not going to the World Cup, the German forward was left on the bench for the opening three Premier League games and did not even make the 18 for their fourth with reports that the manager was concerned about the player’s focus and effort in training.
Guardiola said he was happy with the 22-year-old but that he decided on other options – including teenager Phil Foden – to face Rafa Benitez’s side.
“Last game Phil Foden was not in the squad. I was so sad with Phil as I am with Leroy now.
“We have six strikers and I decided to play with two strikers, we have two wingers plus another one on the bench and that’s why we decided this game he wouldn’t be there.
“In the next games he will be ready to play. “He played 10 minutes [against Wolves], he tried. He was not precise but he tried. They convince me, I am satisfied from the moment they run. Mistakes without the ball, taking decisions is part of the process.”
Guardiola was not pleased with his team’s defending for the Newcastle goal, but marked it as a slip in a performance that he was otherwise impressed with for their work in restricting the visitors to few chances.
WHEN Donald Trump gets round to building his preposterous wall, the Mexicans might want to employ City’s demolition experts to do the right thing.
When it comes to finding a way to defeat ultra-defensive opposition, the Blues are fast becoming the masters.
If they can’t tunnel through it via the wiles of David Silva and Sergio Aguero, they have learned to wheel out the dynamite, often in the feet of Kevin de Bruyne, but in this case through the explosive talents of Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker.
Newcastle had made it plain that they would offer little attacking ambition – and the fact that they scored from their only real attack should be cause for concern for Pep Guardiola.
But after City scored an early goal, it looked straightforward.
The ploy of having a left-footer on the right wing and a rightfooter on the left is crucial against teams who defend deep.
Riyad Mahrez showed why when Fernandinho’s pass gave him a yard of space – he carved back inside and dragged his shot just wide of the post. But Sterling showed him how it should be done with just eight minutes on the clock, as sharp work from Benjamin Mendy gave him the ball and he cut inside the full-back and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the far corner. That seemed to be the hard work done – the idea being that Newcastle would be forced to come out of their shell more if they wanted anything from the game. But Rafa Benitez had instructed them to stick to the game plan, which meant relying on Salomon Rondon’s strength and under-rated subtlety on the break. It paid off as the big striker was given time and space by John Stones, and he was the only man who spotted rightback DeAndre Yedlin racing from deep into the box – Gabriel Jesus desperately tried to track him, but Sterling was nowhere, and Mendy and Aymeric Laporte were oblivious as the Toon man dashed in to fire past Ederson. With something to cling to, Newcastle visibly grew in confidence, and it left City needing a moment of inspiration. It came from the most unlikely source. Walker has an underwhelming goals record for a player who gets forward so much. He had not scored in any competition since November 2015, and has only six to show from his 362 appearances, spanning ten years. It was worth the wait! Credit goes to Sterling for his busy, direct run which attracted defenders, and then to Aguero, who pulled in another two when he was given the ball.
That meant Walker had a clear sight of the far post as he ran onto Kun’s lay-off, and he thundered his shot, inches off the ground, way beyond the reach of keeper Martin Dubravka to win it.
MENDY GAMBLES CONTINUE TO PAY OFF
BENJAMIN Mendy may still be causing Pep Guardiola some anguish on the touchline but the marauding defender is still earning his own opportunities – and created City’s opener for Raheem Sterling.
Even if Mendy isn’t doing everything right, he is doing more than enough to be in positive credit and four assists for the season already (he’s been involved in another two goals too) shows what he has added to this team.
Guardiola and his staff will of course improve the player tactically, but they will hope it isn’t at the expense of his knack for endlessly looking for opportunities to make something happen.
JESUS DOES ALMOST EVERYTHING RIGHT
WHAT Gabriel Jesus would do for some of the fortune Mendy has enjoyed. Jesus celebrated his goal against Huddersfield as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders after a summer full of criticism – much of it unfair – for his World Cup performances. Ninety per cent of what he did against Newcastle was impressive but he was let down every time by the final outcome. A superb Cruyff turn earned a shot on goal only to shoot tamely at the keeper from eight yards; after peeling off his marker from David Silva’s freekick the striker’s header was tame. When even the club’s official Twitter account is digging you out and saying you should be doing better with chances, things are not going well. Even the hard work put in to chase back was in vain when he couldn’t prevent DeAndre Yedlin from equalising.
Jesus’s game, despite what his critics would claim, is about so much more than scoring goals but taking a few more of the chances he is making would certainly help him settle into the season.
RIYAD MAHREZ WON’T HAVE LEROY SANE WORRIED
ANOTHER player who needs a break is Riyad Mahrez. The £60m man looked electric in pre-season, taking on defenders with a swagger and moving into the middle to assert his authority on the game.
A month on and that confidence looks to have drained. There was a dragged shot wide in the box, a cross that went high over everybody’s head and a shot that almost hit the second tier in a reel that nobody will want to watch again.
It remains very early days for Mahrez in this Guardiola team and he has already shown he has the quality to be a very useful addition.
Like Jesus, a goal would do him the world of good.