Pep gave me confidence to play my way, says Ederson
EDERSON insists he will continue to adopt a risky style of goalkeeping, despite some concerns from Pep Guardiola.
The Brazil international was up to his usual antics on Monday night when he raced out of the City penalty box during victory against Wolves and played passes in midfield with Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho.
Speaking after the game Guardiola was asked about the incident, and responded by saying: “No, no, no, no, no, no”.
However, the goalkeeper insisted his confidence was in part down to Guardiola’s backing and he has no plans to adopt a more conservative approach.
“I have improved a lot since I arrived,” said Ederson. “Pep always gave me a lot of confidence to play my way. I might have made mistakes because of my way of playing, but mistakes are part of football. I never let that influence my game.
“I appreciate the freedom and the confidence he gives me to play the style of football he wants. He helped me a lot.”
City are still looking to cut the gap on Liverpool in the Premier League, but Ederson remains confident over his side’s ambitions for domestic success.
The Brazil international continued: “Liverpool want to win because they want to keep the top of the table. Both us and Tottenham want to win to close the gap and eventually get to the top. I think it’s going to be a very tight battle.
“Anything can happen from now until the end of the season. We’re ready for the challenge. If we manage to keep the same level we have started the season with, I think we can achieve all our targets.” THE impact of pressure is one of the unquantifiable aspects of the thrilling Premier League title race between City and Liverpool – but it is almost certain to play some part between now and May 12.
Pressure will come in varying forms over the next four months but HOW do you take the place of a legend? That was the conundrum Pep Guardiola was pondering last week when he was discussing Gabriel Jesus’ recent upturn in form and his challenge to earn a regular place in the City side.
The discussion started after his four-goal haul against Burton Albion and after his family returned to for now it’s likely to fall on whoever plays second over a Premier League game week.
Liverpool have a four-point advantage over the Blues heading into this weekend and victory for them over Crystal Palace on Saturday will extend that lead to seven once again when City kick-off at Huddersfield.
But Pep Guardiola’s side have responded when under pressure Brazil, with their spell in Manchester over Christmas coinciding with Jesus’ glut of goals.
At that stage, nobody really expected him to start against Wolves on Monday night. There’s a pecking order for strikers at City and the 21-year-old is below Sergio Aguero. With the club’s record goalscorer back fit after a bout of illness, the expectation was that he would lead the line. recently. They were 10 points behind when they faced Southampton on December 30 and won and were then seven back when they played Liverpool at the Etihad. Again victory was secured when a slip-up in either game would have been fatal, according to Guardiola.
The pressure was back on Monday night. Liverpool’s tense win at Brighton again increased the gap to seven points, but again City responded, beating Wolves 3-0. If they can do it one more time at the John Smith’s Stadium on Sunday then the advantage is firmly back with the Blues.
Playing first can have a significant advantage. If City play second and begin seven points behind they know they can’t really afford a mistake, they are playing under pressure. But if Guardiola’s side play first and win then Liverpool will see their lead cut to a point. The pendulum of pressure switches to Anfield.
That is an advantage that will fall City’s way after the weekend’s fixtures.
But the inclusion of Jesus for his fifth start in nine Premier League games came as quite the shock.
The Brazilian proved worth his weight in goals again, though. His double took him to nine in his last five starts and the question of when he usurps Aguero as Guardiola’s go-to striker is back on the agenda.
When Jesus made an immediate impact at City after his move from Palmeiras, it looked a matter of time In four of the next five game weeks, from the trip to Newcastle on Tuesday, January 29, to the Etihad fixture with West Ham on Tuesday, February 26, City will play at least a day before their title rivals. Win those games and it will be time to see how Jurgen Klopp’s side cope with pressure. Having built up such a commanding advantage over Christmas in their bid for a first league title in 29 years, those Liverpool players will surely feel a knot in their stomach if they see only a one-point lead over the next six weeks. That will be pressure. Gordon Strachan, a veteran of title races in the Scottish Premier League, believes playing first can hold an advantage. “I was fortunate – or unfortunate – enough to be in that position with Celtic and Rangers,” he said. “We never played at the same time because of the TV schedule. One played earlier, one played later, one played on the Saturday, one played on the Sunday. I always preferred to be the Tyrone Marshall until he would edge Aguero out of the picture at the Etihad. But a combination of injuries and a loss of confidence, combined with Aguero’s continued goalscoring exploits and his improvement off the ball in Guardiola’s system, have delayed what looked like an inevitability.
Time is on Jesus’ side at the age of 21, but in his City career so far he has tended to be a streaky striker, which will give Guardiola a selection