Tag: Manchester City

Manchester City turned on the style to seal top spot in Group G at the Club World Cup with an emphatic 5-2 win over Juventus on Thursday.

The third straight victory for Pep Guardiola’s side increases the chances of City avoiding a meeting with Real Madrid in the last 16 — a fate that may now await Juventus.

City and Juve will not know their opponent until the final pair of games in Group H conclude later on Friday.

A positive day for City saw 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri make his first start since rupturing his ACL in September, and Guardiola’s side, featuring several new faces, look significantly improved on the team which struggled to finish 13 points behind Premier League champions Liverpool last season.

Manchester City were on top from the outset, with a Bernardo Silva header forcing Juve keeper Michele Di Gregorio to save with his feet in the fifth minute.

Four minutes later, Guardiola’s new-look side had the lead when, after a characteristic, patient build-up, Rayan Ait-Nouri split the Juve defence with a superb pass which Jeremy Doku collected and dispatched into the far corner.

Juve were gifted an equaliser when City’s Brazilian keeper Ederson’s pass out was intercepted by Teun Koopmeiners, who marched into the box and confidently fired home.

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Juve returned the gift, though in the 26th minute, when French defender Pierre Kalulu, under no pressure, turned a low cross from Matheus Nunes into his own net.

A short but intense downpour just before half-time cooled the stadium down, and Guardiola introduced his prolific Norwegian striker Erling Haaland at the break. It took just seven minutes for him to find the scoresheet.

Tijjani Reijnders fed Matheus Nunes, whose low cross found an unmarked Haaland in the middle, and while it wasn’t the cleanest of finishes from close range, the striker celebrated his 300th career goal.

Rodri left the field in the 66th minute to applause as Ilkay Gundogan took over his role in the centre of midfield, but Manchester City continued to overrun the Turin side.

Haaland latched on to a long ball from Ederson and looked for fellow sub Phil Foden in the middle, but put his cross beyond the England man only for Savinho to recover it and set up Foden for a simple conversion.

Savinho then made it 5-1 when, after a Haaland shot was saved by De Gregorio’s feet, the Brazilian met the loose ball with a thundering drive which flew in off the underside of the bar.

Juventus had created little but restored a little pride when Kenan Yildiz produced a lovely touch and clever pass to set Dusan Vlahovic free, and the Serbian beat Ederson from the edge of the box.

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Manchester City booked their place in the Club World Cup last 16 with an emphatic 6-0 rout of Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday.

In a match dubbed the “Abu derby”, with City owner and United Arab Emirates (UAE) vice-president Sheikh Mansour’s side facing off against that of his elder sibling, Sheikh Mohamed, president of Al Ain and also the country, the Premier League side showed no brotherly love.

Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead before starlet Claudio Echeverri netted his first goal for the club with a free-kick, and Erling Haaland slotted in the third with a penalty.

In the second half, Gundogan struck again, Oscar Bobb rolled in the fifth, and Rayan Cherki grabbed his first City goal as they pulled level with Juventus on six points at the top of Group G. The result also confirmed Juve’s place in the next round.

Pep Guardiola said on the eve of the game his squad needed trimming, and that was reflected in his decision to rotate his entire starting line-up from the opening win over Wydad Casablanca.

In came superstar striker Haaland, new arrival Rayan Ait-Nouri, and exciting prospect Echeverri, among others.

Serbian coach Vladimir Ivic’s Al Ain were crushed 5-0 by Juventus in their opening fixture, and the 10-time Premier League champions offered another unforgiving challenge.

After a disjointed opening, Manchester City took the lead in the ninth minute in fortuitous fashion, with Gundogan’s chip towards Haaland at the back post floating into the net of its own accord.

Al Ain had a good chance to pull level when the dawdling Nico Gonzalez had his pocket picked and the UAE side sprang forward, but Nassim Chadli’s effort was superbly tipped wide by Stefan Ortega.

City’s 19-year-old Argentine attacker Echeverri, on his first start for the club, doubled their lead after 27 minutes with a perfect free-kick that swerved around the outside of the wall and left goalkeeper Khalid Eisa rooted to the spot.

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With the Mercedes-Benz Stadium mostly full apart from the top ring of seats, fans began sending a Mexican wave around the ground.

It came to a standstill when Bernardo Silva’s corner was headed against the post by Josko Gvardiol, before starting back up.

Haaland rolled a shot narrowly wide when he might have scored the third after a one-two with Silva sent him galloping through.

The Norwegian hitman eventually got his goal in first-half stoppage time after Manuel Akanji was hauled to the ground by Ramy Rabia and City were awarded a penalty following a VAR review.

Haaland sent Eisa the wrong way with a low spot-kick for his first goal of the tournament.

Haaland should have scored again after the hour mark, but Eisa denied him with a good double save. Instead, it was Gundogan who got his second, with a well-taken dinked finish.

The midfielder has recently been linked with a move to Galatasaray, but Guardiola said Saturday he is still counting on the 34-year-old in the United States.

Substitute Oscar Bobb showed fleet footwork before rolling in the fifth at the near post, before Cherki sealed the win.

Signed from Lyon ahead of the tournament, the French attacking midfielder had a quiet debut against Wydad but powered home from the edge of the box late on in his second appearance.

Manchester City face Juventus in Orlando on Thursday in a shoot-out to decide who will finish top of the group and potentially avoid a last-16 clash against Spanish giants Real Madrid.

With one more goal, they would have moved ahead of Juve on goals scored and had a slight advantage, but City ran out of time.

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Kevin De Bruyne has signed for Napoli as a free agent after being released by Manchester City, the Serie A champions’ president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed on Thursday.

Film mogul De Laurentiis posted a picture of himself shaking hands with De Bruyne on social media with the message “welcome, Kevin!”

Belgium midfielder De Bruyne has reportedly signed a two-year deal with an option for a third at Napoli, where he will join up with international teammate Romelu Lukaku and former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay.

The 33-year-old left City at the end of this past season after a trophy-packed decade in Manchester, where under Pep Guardiola he won six Premier League titles and in 2023 the Champions League.

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He has, however, suffered from a series of physical problems in recent seasons, with two hamstring injuries causing him to miss significant chunks of the last two campaigns.

Napoli have brought in one of Europe’s top midfielders as the Italians try to bolster a squad which next season will defend the Scudetto while also having the extra fixture pressure of the expanded Champions League.

Antonio Conte’s Napoli beat Inter Milan to the Serie A title on the final day of the season, their second league crown in three years.

But they had no European football clogging up their calendar, unlike Inter, who got to the Champions League final only to be thumped 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said the war in Gaza “hurts my whole body” as he delivered an emotional speech while being honoured by the University of Manchester.

Pep Guardiola, 54, was speaking as he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester on Monday.

“It’s so painful what we see in Gaza, it hurts my whole body,” Pep Guardiola said in excerpts of his speech shared on social media.

“Let me be clear, it’s not about ideology. It’s not about whether I’m right, or you’re wrong. It’s just about the love of life, about the care of your neighbour.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,981 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable.

“Maybe we think that we see the boys and girls of four years old being killed by the bomb or being killed at the hospital because it’s not a hospital anymore, it’s not our business,” Pep Guardiola.

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“Yes, fine, we can think about that, it’s not our business. But be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four or five-year-old kids will be ours.

“Sorry, but I see my kids, Maria, Marius and Valentina when I see every morning, since the nightmare started, the infants in Gaza, and I’m so scared.”

Guardiola has not shied away from voicing political views in the past, throwing his weight behind the campaign for Catalan independence.

He was awarded the honorary degree by the University of Manchester for his unprecedented success at City, where he has won six Premier League titles, as well as his work through his family foundation, the Guardiola Sala Foundation.

The organsisation takes part in “established projects which strive to support the most disadvantaged”.

Apart from Pep Guardiola Others within football have spoken out on Gaza.

In October 2023, Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah called on “world leaders to come together to “prevent further slaughter of innocent souls”.

The following month Bundesliga club Mainz sacked Dutch winger Anwar El Ghazi, now at Cardiff, over social media posts related to the conflict.

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Pep Guardiola has said he could quit his position as Manchester City manager if he is given too large a squad next season, as he can no longer bear to leave out large numbers of fit players from his team.

City will head into the post-season looking to rebuild an ageing squad, with several senior players expected to follow Kevin De Bruyne out of the Etihad after the Belgian played his final home game for the club in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth.

This season has seen City’s unprecedented run of four successive top-flight English titles come to an end, while their defeat by Crystal Palace in last weekend’s FA Cup final meant they will finish without a major trophy for the first time in eight years.

Injuries have hit Manchester City hard this season, but Pep Guardiola, always in favour of a smaller group of players, insisted: “I said to the club I don’t want that (a bigger squad).

“I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, and I will stay.

“It’s impossible for my soul to (tell) my players in the tribune that they cannot play.”

The Spaniard added: “Now it happened to add players immediately. Maybe for three or four months, we couldn’t select 11 players, we didn’t have defenders, it was so difficult. After, people come back, but next season it cannot be like that.

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“As a manager, I cannot train 24 players and every time I select, I have to have four, five, six, stay in Manchester at home because they cannot play. This is not going to happen. I said to the club I don’t want that.”

Despite the injury problems suffered this season — notably the lengthy absence of Rodri, who made his first appearance since September as a second-half substitute on Tuesday — Guardiola said he would rather bolster his squad with academy players.

“If I have injuries, unlucky, we have some players for the academy, and we do it,” he said.

Manchester City needed to win on Tuesday to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League in their own hands, and a draw at Fulham on Sunday should now be enough to make sure of a place among European football’s elite.

Omar Marmoush opened the scoring with a fine strike, and although De Bruyne missed an open goal, Bernardo Silva doubled the lead before half-time.

After City’s Mateo Kovacic and Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook saw red in quick succession, Nico Gonzalez got a late third for City before Daniel Jebbison’s stoppage-time consolation goal.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will make a decision on the future of Jack Grealish at the end of the season.

Grealish has fallen out of favour with Guardiola since his starring role in City’s 2023 treble-winning campaign.

The 29-year-old has made just seven Premier League starts this term and was left on the bench as City crashed to a shock 1-0 defeat in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

That snub has fuelled speculation that the England winger could leave the Etihad Stadium during the summer transfer window.

Guardiola said discussions will take place between outgoing director of football Txiki Begiristain, his successor Hugo Viana and Grealish’s representatives before deciding if he will still be with City next season.

“We didn’t talk, I didn’t talk with him,” Guardiola told reporters on Monday.

“People don’t believe me but these things belong to the agents and the club and Txiki, and in this case Hugo as well. Both will decide.

“What is going to happen will happen, but he has to come back to start to play minutes again.”

Pep Guardiola accepts that former Aston Villa star Jack Grealish, who has two years remaining on his contract, will not be happy about his lack of action.

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“It’s not only Jack. There is not one player in my locker room, and I think all the locker rooms around the world, that is happy when they do not play,” he said.

“When the team is winning and winning they have to figure out how everything happens but they are not happy.

“They are here to play and, when they don’t play, they are not satisfied. That is the normal position in all the clubs.”

One player definitely leaving is Kevin De Bruyne, who is set to make his final home appearance for the club in Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth.

The 33-year-old midfielder is out of contract in June and will depart after a glorious decade at the Etihad in which he has won 16 trophies.

Despite the Belgian’s claim he is still good enough to play in the Premier League, Guardiola believes the time is right to move on after injuries and poor form reduced his effectiveness over the last two years.

“There are players who are really difficult to replace, really, really difficult for many reasons,” he said.

“We know that but the season we have done is the season we have done and we cannot deny it. Of course we have to move forward.”

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Crystal Palace stunned Manchester City on Saturday to win the FA Cup for the first time as Eberechi Eze sealed a 1-0 victory that piled on the misery for Pep Guardiola’s troubled side.

Eze’s early strike rocked City before Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty late in the first half of a dramatic final at Wembley.

While Eze’s clinical finish was the culmination of his remarkable rise from rejection by Arsenal, Fulham and Millwall as a youngster, it was Henderson who emerged as Palace’s hero with a series of superb saves.

City will protest that Henderson should have been sent off for a first-half handball outside his penalty area.

But Henderson made the most of that controversial moment to ensure Palace clinched the first major trophy in their 120-year history and a place in next season’s Europa League.

“To be honest I can’t really believe it. I think when you play this game 10 times, you win it once, and this happened today,” Palace boss Oliver Glasner said.

“The goal was the first time we were in their half and then we just defended with every single part of the body.”

Beaten by Manchester United in their previous FA Cup final appearances in 1990 and 2016, Palace’s shock win was no more than they deserved as City once again imploded in a dismal season that will be their first without major silverware since 2016-17.

“We did everything but if you’re not going to score goals, you’re not going to win,” Guardiola said. “We performed really well. Football is like this sometimes.”

On the Henderson controversy, Guardiola would only add: “Ask the referee.”

After winning the Premier League in the previous four seasons, City have endured a turbulent campaign that ranks among the worst in Guardiola’s storied managerial career.

Currently sixth in the Premier League, City host Bournemouth on Tuesday and travel to Fulham on May 25 as they try to salvage their wretched year by at least qualifying for the Champions League.

Not for the first time, Guardiola sprang a surprise with his selection for a final as he picked an ultra-attacking line-up with no holding midfielder.

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However, Guardiola’s habit of tinkering with his tactics for finals has backfired in the past.

Asked about City’s line-up just before kick-off, Guardiola said he was putting his faith in “talent”, but Glasner had spotted an opening, saying: “When you have so many attacking players it could give you an opportunity in transitions.”

Erling Haaland nearly gave City the perfect start when he stretched to meet Kevin De Bruyne’s cross with a volley that forced a scrambled save from Henderson.

Josko Gvardiol’s towering header from Savinho’s corner was smartly repelled by Henderson.

But Glasner’s clever decision to set up Palace deep inside their own half had lured City in for the sucker punch.

Eze delivered the knockout blow from Palace’s first attack in the 16th minute as Glasner’s men launched a brilliant break from their penalty area.

Jean-Philippe Mateta held up Chris Richards’ long pass and laid it off to Daniel Munoz, who surged down the right flank before crossing towards Eze, who guided a superb volley past Stefan Ortega from 12 yards.

City were furious when Henderson escaped a red card when VAR checked his handball, which appeared to take place outside the area, after the ‘keeper rushed out to challenge Haaland.

VAR said it was “not an obvious goal-scoring opportunity” but it proved crucial as Henderson rescued Palace in the 35th minute.

Tyrick Mitchell conceded the penalty with a needless foul on Bernardo Silva as the City midfielder ran away from goal.

Instead of Haaland taking the spot-kick, it was Marmoush who stepped up after the Norway star gave him the ball in a disastrous move as Henderson plunged to his right to keep out the Egyptian’s strike.

Henderson was in inspired form and he denied City again, clawing away a Jeremy Doku strike that appeared destined for the top corner.

Defending tirelessly, Palace were indebted to Henderson, who made two more brilliant saves from Claudio Echeverri to cap a chastening afternoon for Guardiola.

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Pep Guardiola admits this season has been the toughest of his 16-year managerial career as Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge collapsed and they exited the Champions League early.

The Spaniard has experienced little but success in glittering spells at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. But after four successive Premier League triumphs, City’s form nosedived from late October onwards.

They can still finish the campaign with a top-five spot and the FA Cup, while they have an additional shot at silverware at the Club World Cup.

But even if they end on a high note, it will not change Guardiola’s verdict on the season as a whole.

“It’s been the most difficult, that’s for sure,” said the 54-year-old, whose team exited the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid in the knockout phase playoffs.

“It’s been more demanding — much more. When you don’t win, it’s more demanding emotionally and (in terms of) preparing and the moods and everything.

“It’s been more difficult than the previous seasons when we played for the titles.”

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Injuries, particularly to midfielder Rodri, have been a huge factor in City’s decline while a number of individuals have suffered a drop in form.

Pep Guardiola does not absolve himself from blame.

“We had a lot of injuries, we didn’t have the energy,” he said. “We tried most of the time, but we were not able to do it.

“I didn’t find the way to let them feel comfortable and win the games.”

Guardiola, whose third-placed side travel to relegated Southampton on Saturday, admitted City’s high standards had slipped.

“But, even with that, I would say, it could be worse. I was not good enough to find a way, but we didn’t give up,” he said.

“We’re still fighting to qualify for the Champions League — that is a big, big prize — and the FA Cup.”

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Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas has shared an interesting story from his time at Hampshire, revealing how Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was denied a hotel room.

Abbas, who had been playing for Hampshire County Cricket Club, was released last winter after impressive performances over four seasons. During those seasons, he took 180 wickets at an outstanding average of 19.26.

The 35-year-old is currently playing for Nottinghamshire in the ongoing County Cricket Championship.

In an interview with a British news outlet, Mohammad Abbas revealed the story of the Manchester Manager requesting his room.

“I didn’t know about it at the time, but our head coach told me the next morning that he had wanted my room,” Abbas said.

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“The Hilton emailed the Hampshire management to ask if it was possible, but they were told no, I would be spending six months there. So that was what happened,” he added.

The right-arm pacer also shed light on Hampshire’s decision to release him, emphasizing that the club’s new Indian owners did not have an issue with a Pakistani cricketer.

“No, that’s not why. James Vince had stopped playing four-day cricket, and they said they needed a batter for an overseas player; so a bit of a restructure.

“We had good communication around it, and they are good people. Still, they are messaging me, and I am messaging them. They are fantastic, he explained.”

For the unversed, Mohammad Abbas made his debut for Pakistan in 2017. He has played 27 Test matches until now, claiming 100 wickets at an impressive average of 23.18.

Abbas was recalled to the Pakistan team after a three-year gap during the tour of South Africa last December; however, three weeks later, he was not included in the home series against the West Indies.

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Matheus Nunes scored a priceless stoppage-time winner as Manchester City beat top-five rivals Aston Villa 2-1 on Tuesday to boost their bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola’s side were seconds away from a damaging draw at the Etihad Stadium after Bernardo Silva’s early opener was cancelled out by Marcus Rashford’s penalty.

But Nunes’s last-gasp strike sparked wild celebrations from Guardiola and his players as they climbed to third place in the Premier League.

With the race for a top-five finish approaching a tense climax, Portugal midfielder Nunes, converted to right-back lately, could not have picked a better time to net his first league goal for City.

City’s 15th successive home league win against Villa wasn’t quite as stunning as the fightback from two goals down that brought them the Premier League title on the last day of the 2021-22 season.

But it could prove almost as lucrative, with a place in the Champions League now within their control.

With four games left, Manchester City will remain at least fifth even if fourth-placed Nottingham Forest, fifth-placed Newcastle and sixth-placed Chelsea each win their game in hand.

After winning the Premier League six times in the previous seven seasons, City have been reduced to fighting for a place in the Champions League at a time of year when they are usually in the title hunt.

City’s decline has already been remarkable enough, but enduring a first season without Champions League action since 2010-11 would be a new low, and this was a vital step in avoiding that fate.

City will turn their attention to the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Sunday, while Villa must bounce back from a painful loss in time for their own last-four clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Villa were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals last week after narrowly failing in their bid for a dramatic fightback against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg.

This was another blow for Unai Emery’s seventh-placed side, which is two points behind the top five with four games left.

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With Rashford on loan from Manchester United, it was no surprise that his name was loudly jeered by City fans before kick-off.

The England forward almost silenced the boos just 19 seconds after kick-off when he slalomed past Ruben Dias for a low drive that smacked off the far post.

After that narrow escape, Silva landed the first blow for City in the seventh minute.

Omar Marmoush was the catalyst with an incisive surge into the Villa area before cutting his pass back to Silva, whose stinging strike from 10 yards was too powerful for Emiliano Martinez’s awkward attempted save to keep out.

Silva’s first goal since December provoked an immediate response from Villa.

In the 18th minute, Jacob Ramsey induced a lumbering challenge from Dias, who tripped the midfielder for a penalty that was only awarded by referee Craig Pawson after VAR told him to consult the pitchside monitor.

Guardiola was furious with the decision, earning a booking for his tirade at the fourth official.

Rashford kept his nerve, sending Stefan Ortega the wrong way from the spot for his fourth goal since his loan move in the January transfer window.

Rashford’s blistering speed was a constant danger to City and he easily out-paced their back four for a shot that Ortega blocked with his legs.

However, City got to grips with Rashford better in the second half as they pushed for a winner.

Nunes was their saviour in the fourth of five minutes of stoppage time when he met Jeremy Doku’s low cross with a superb finish from the most acute of angles six yards from goal.

Guardiola’s frenzied fist-pumping dance of joy underlined the significance of a crucial result in a turbulent season that could still have an uplifting finale.

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