Man City don’t have a match-winner ‘like Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe or Neymar’, Pep Guardiola admits
City’s strength comes from a consistency of quality throughout the squad, the manager says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Manchester City look set to complete at least a domestic double of sorts this season, with potential European success still on the horizon too.
An expensively assembled squad with a world-class manager are capable of beating anybody on their day, but not because of individuality - at least in the eyes of Pep Guardiola.
The Spanish coach says that City miss the single match-winning component that other teams can sometimes rely on, highlighting three of the most-vaunted players in Europe over the last decade as well as the younger PSG star, Kylian Mbappe.
However, that doesn’t hamper his side’s bids for glory, Guardiola says, due to the overall squad strength being so complete and all players being around the same level.
“We maybe don’t have a single player who is capable to win a game all on his own like Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe or Neymar,” the City boss said on Canal Plus.
“But the average level of my players is so high that no replacement throws the team off balance.”
That strength in depth is arguably one of the club’s qualities which has led to their League Cup dominance over the past few years.
City won a fourth straight Carabao Cup final on Sunday, beating Tottenham 1-0 at Wembley.
While other clubs may rotate players in that competition, giving fringe players, youngsters and those needing match action some minutes on the pitch, City’s well-rounded squad allows them to still field first-team capable stars alongside a handful of talented youngsters.
Even so, there is one player in the squad Pep feels stands out above the others, even if not to the level of Messi and Co. for regular match-winning numbers: Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.
“When people ask me to speak about players, about their qualities, I always respond with the same thing: you just have to watch.
“Turn your TV on and enjoy. Kevin, he is like a knife, we say in Spanish. When he decides to go for it, he sees passes and the game.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments