KEEP QUIET Boo boys need to give Bravo a break SAYS CITY’S PABLO ZABALETA
GUARDIOLA FEELS REAL SERG OF LOVE
STEVE MILLAR
The £17million Chilean has had an unimpressive six months at The Etihad – in the eyes of the supporters – since being brought in from Barcelona by boss Pep Guardiola as a replacement for axed Joe Hart.
He has so far failed to live up to his reputation as one of the best five goalkeepers in the world and recently lost his Premier League slot to Willy Caballero.
City chief Guardiola has not expressed any fears about his stopper but Bravo has looked uncomfortable as the club’s new No.1 and against Huddersfield in the FA Cup last week he was again guilty of a howler.
Bravo allowed Harry Bunn’s shot to squirm under him for the Terriers’ opener in the hosts’ 5-1 victory – the ninth goal he had conceded from just 14 shots.
And he was subjected to ironic cheers as the fed-up faithful mocked him when he saved a comfortable effort from Jack Payne.
Loyal Guardiola is standing by his man, though, and Bravo’s team-mate Zabaleta is encouraging the supporters to do the same and give him time to make the adjustment from La Liga to the Premier League.
The Argentine defender said: “We need to help the players and we need to understand there are times when players go to another league that it is hard. It is tough.
“You need time to adapt and we know the goalkeeping position is not an easy one. You need confidence and he is not a regular starter at the moment. It is not easy but we need to support him.
“We know he is a great goalkeeper and his distribution with his feet has been fantastic. So we need to support him.
“He came from Barcelona and won the Copa America with Chile. He is one of the greatest goalkeepers but moving from La Liga to the Premier League is sometimes not easy.
“It’s hard for everyone so we need patience. We need to give confidence to him.
“The players and manager are 100 per cent sure what Claudio is as a goalkeeper and that is the most important thing.
“I hope the fans can give confidence and support him when he is playing.”
Zabaleta has thrown his support behind Sergio Aguero too as the Argentine striker makes a comeback after seemingly slipping down the pecking order of strikers following the arrival of Gabriel Jesus, 19.
He describes Aguero (above) as “intense” in his goal-getting and with the forward firing another double in midweek to help dump Huddersfield out of the FA Cup, he has sent out a warning to troubled Sunderland, who City face today.
Zabaleta said: “Sergio looks very intense. He has been one of the top scorers in the last six or seven seasons and he is one of the best strikers not only in the league but in the world.
“He has been fantastic. When he is that intense his quality is fantastic. We need that Sergio Aguero from now until the end of the season.”
It is in the final weeks of the campaign that Zabaleta will decide his future with his contract ending in the summer after nine seasons with City.
He has already spoken with Guardiola and they will meet again after the final ball is kicked.
“I am ready to play when the manager decides and then we will decide when it is the right moment to talk about my future,” he said.
“I know my contract expires at the end of the season. I’m 32 and not getting any younger. So I need to make sure of my decision – and I need to make sure it is the correct decision. If I decide to stay, I will stay. If I will decide that it is time to move on, I will move on.” STEVE MILLAR