Hendry awestruck after City deliver a Euro masterclass
JACK HENDRY admits he encountered a completely new brand of football as Manchester City’s fluent and mesmerising play left him on the end of a Champions League drubbing.
The Club Brugge defender entered the game feeling quietly confident and with some justification. A competition debut against PSG’S stellar front three of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar saw him emerge with great credit as the Belgians claimed a 1-1 draw.
He followed that up with a memorable win in Germany versus RB Leipzig.
Tuesday offered something new and punishing. Brugge were simply overwhelmed by the speed and rhythm of City’s interplay, a performance that had Pep Guardiola hailing it as one of City’s best ever on the European stage.
‘I’m still trying to digest it,’ remarked Hendry the day after the 5-1 loss. ‘City are one of the best teams in the world and it’s the interchanging of positions that is so difficult to track.
‘Phil Foden was dropping really deep into midfield and straight away you’re speaking to the midfielders to pick him up. We wanted to be aggressive and stay with our men but if I, as a centre-half, follow Foden into his half that just leaves gaps.
‘You’ve got Grealish coming off one side and Mahrez the other, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva….
‘And then they had Cancelo and Walker running from full-back.
‘They are so well drilled and know exactly when to make those runs.
‘So, with no recognised striker to play against, you’re constantly having to watch to see where the next threat is coming from.
‘They took full advantage but sometimes you need these lessons …’
At this stage, it’s worth taking a reality check.
This time last year, Hendry was in the process of rebuilding his career almost from nothing.
Cast beyond the fringes at Celtic under Neil Lennon, Hendry moved to Melbourne on loan in January 2020 only to suffer a serious knee injury in his second game.
Following his rehab, he left Celtic on loan for a second time. Life in the Jupiler Pro League proved very much to his taste. Deployed in the middle of a back three by Oostende boss Alexander Blessin, he thrived. A place in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for the Euros and a Belgian player of the year award awaited.
Celtic’s decision to facilitate a buy-out clause of £1.75 million was proven ill-judged when Oostende promptly ‘flipped’ him to Brugge for double that sum.
The transfer didn’t even require him to move house.
With a mixture of Dutch, French and English prevalent in the dressingroom, he has eased off on the French lessons he commenced when he moved to Oostende but communication is clearly not a problem.
Encouraged by coach Philippe Clement to take on an organisational role, Hendry emerged as the most vocal of the Brugge players, vainly attempting to instil order amid the chaos as his team-mates chased the white shirts of City around the Jan Breydel Stadium.
‘That comes with confidence,’ he says. ‘Your team-mates need to respect you in a way that allows you to assert those leadership qualities.
‘In a game like that, it’s hard. Sometimes the ball has been moved so fast it’s too late to make the shout. That’s why focus is so important.
‘If there is an opportunity there to help a team-mate out then you need to grab it but that was a tough schooling for us.
‘Guardiola came out and said it’s one of the best performances he has ever seen, so we literally got them at the worst possible moment.
‘Going into the game, we had four points, they had three so they probably saw it as a cup final.
‘I don’t think we performed well either. So them being at their max and us dropping off it was not a good combination.
‘The work rate and the tempo with which they play the ball is on another level. I have never seen that kind of speed before.
‘The way they press, too — it’s the level every player aspires to.
‘So although it was a very bitter pill to swallow, sometimes you benefit more from that kind of game.
‘As hard as it was to take, I realise I’m now literally playing against the best teams in the world.
‘I need to grasp this opportunity, I can’t let all this pass me by. I have to become better from it.’