Pep Guardiola has highlighted one Manchester City player who he says is very important for the team.
Wednesday evening saw the Blues beat Aston Villa 4-1 to keep themselves in the race to regain the Premier League title after drawing 0-0 with Arsenal last weekend.
After their midweek victory, one figure in the City team found himself on the receiving end of some positive words from his manager.
Guardiola says one Man City player is now so important
Speaking after the Villa game, which saw Phil Foden score his second hat-trick of the season, Guardiola had this to say about Josko Gvardiol and his role in the team.
He said: “I think it’s not easy for him changing a league and he improved against [Bukayo] Saka and today against [Moussa] Diaby and [Leon] Bailey.
“It’s not easy to win the duels but especially with the ball he was so, so composed and safe. In the past he had a tendency to take a lot of risks with the ball and lose a lot of balls and now he’s more simple as a player. It has to be like that. A defender has to be simple. He has got be a good defender and be simple.
“I don’t ask Josko Gvardiol to score a hat-trick like Phil Foden. He doesn’t have to do that. He has another job and has to do what he has to do. The last two games were really, really good. We need him in the absence of Nathan [Ake].”
After arriving at the Etihad Stadium from RB Leipzig during the previous summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £77m, the defender has made 31 appearances for City in all competitions.
Across his 19 Premier League appearances, the Croatian has racked up a higher combined total of tackles and interceptions (56) than any other defender in the City squad.
As Guardiola mentioned, the Citizens will be without Nathan Ake for a while after he was forced off the pitch with an injury during the 0-0 draw against Arsenal, which makes it likely that Gvardiol will be a regular in the team while the Dutchman is recovering.
Moving forward, if the summer recruit can continue to impress and repay the faith put into him by his manager, he could play a key role in potentially winning his first Premier League, FA Cup or Champions League title with his new side.
