Former England striker had the maximum effect from minimum of input in his side’s big win at Manchester CityBrendan Rodgers has been waiting a long time for a first win against a Pep Guardiola team, and the irony here was it looked for all the world as if winning was the last thing on his or Leicester City’s mind.In the end, with James Maddison’s goal and Youri Tielemans’ penalty completing a stunning victory, Rodgers had the sort of statement result Leicester last managed here in their title-winning season of 2015-16, yet no one would have imagined such a thing possible after turning up at the Etihad Stadium with an attitude so defensive it would have made José Mourinho blush. Related:...
Despite some key absences Pep Guardiola’s side made an electric start at Molineux but could not sustain itFirst half scintillating; second half a touch concerning. This was Manchester City in a season-opening trip to Wolves that could be cast as the start of what might be the greatest test yet for Pep Guardiola: the uncharted territory of a fifth season in charge of a team who had question marks against them before kick-off wherever you looked.Sergio Agüero was out for two more months because of a knee injury. Aymeric Laporte was missing owing to recovery from Covid. Ilkay Gündogan had been placed in quarantine after testing positive for the virus. A 35-year-old Fernandinho was selected in defensive midfield, Nathan Aké...
Manchester City kick off against a side that beat them twice last season and a player who exploits their weaknesses ruthlesslyWhen Pep Guardiola was a little boy growing up in Santpedor, they warned darkly of such things. There would come, they said, an opponent too terrible to contemplate. It would be huge, yet quick. It would have prodigious strength, yet the most delicate feet. It would devastate its enemies with its power, yet practise also the most sublime skill. It would be a chimera, crafted both by La Masia and by Tony Pulis. Its mighty arms would drip with oil so no man could hold it. It would know Guardiola’s weakness and exploit it ruthlessly. On the nights when sleep...
A possible Pep and Leo show at the Etihad is a mouthwatering prospect but a defensive rejig is more pressing for the club’s title ambitions than the addition of a strolling goalscoring geniusA fortnight ago, two key storylines emerged from Lisbon. There was the collapse of Barcelona and another premature Manchester City exit. From a narrative point of view, the reunion of Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola makes perfect sense, a fusion of two current storylines, the rekindling of one of football’s great romances. Related: The end of the affair: after Messi, Barcelona will never be the same | Sid Lowe Messi is not the solution to a glass jaw, just a finer grade of crystal Related: Messi to Manchester...
Barcelona should accept the Argentinian’s wishes and let him leave with Pep Guardiola the manager best placed to sign himSuddenly and unexpectedly there is the very real prospect Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player in the world now or ever, will be playing in the Premier League. There are a lot of hurdles still to overcome if it is to happen, including a legal battle between two sides who believe he should be allowed to leave Barcelona either for nothing or for €700m but it seems clear he wants a move and that in Pep Guardiola Manchester City have the manager best placed to sign him. Related: The end of the affair: after Messi, Barcelona will never be the same...