GOAL! #ManCity 2-0 Everton, Erling Haaland [63']

A sweet victory! ✨

🩵 2-0 🍬 | @OKX

@Erling_Haaland scoring the majority of Man City's goals is a concern for Pep Guardiola, says the Man City manager.

Pep: “We have to score more, yeah. If we don't create, it's fine. But if we create, we have to score, yeah..”

Pep Guardiola: “I saw in training they're good with finishing, so they have to do it... And I have no doubt, when they unlock, those players will score.

Omar [Marmoush] is a top scorer, Savio in one moment it will happen, Oscar [Bobb] as well, Tijji [Reijnders] and Phil [Foden] - they're really good scoring! We cannot deny how good Phil is in those positions, Tijjani as well.

And when Rico [Lewis] plays that position, he's a guy who always arrives in the final third really, really good. We have Erling [Haaland], it's fine, but we'll be stronger. They have to feel, 'OK, I have to help the team'. And this is what we have to do.”

Phil Foden: “I think I’m improving my relationship with @Erling_Haaland; I played a lot of good passes in behind. Maybe he could've finished a few but every time I pass he seems to miss unfortunately! No, no we’re definitely building that relationship. I’m finding him more in behind and where he needs the ball to score. It’s something I’ve been working on.”

𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂: Rodri has been RULED OUT against Villarreal and Aston Villa with ongoing muscular injury, Pep Guardiola has confirmed! 🚨‼️

🗣️ “Villarreal I don’t think so and Aston Villa I don’t think so neither. It’s not long but it’s muscular and we have to be careful.

I’ve said many times we try to avoid reoccurring injuries, but we have not been able to do that. We will see. Step by step…”

Can you name the missing players in the City XI that last played at Villarreal in 2011? 🤔

🎙️ Pep Guardiola and Nico González’s pre-Villarreal press conference.

Guardiola: “I'm sorry, on behalf of Man City, for the tragic news for the loss of the son of Stuart Pearce, and of course his wife and family. I know there is no words that can embrace this huge tragedy, and our deepest, deepest love to him and his family.”

Guardiola on Nico González: “I have the feeling he's getting better and better. It's not easy sometimes arriving in a new club and playing a different style to maybe playing in the past.

But we're really pleased with his behavior, and I'm pretty he'll be better and better, month by month, year by year because he's so coachable, open-minded, and a lovely, lovely guy - his mum and dad has to be so proud about how he is as a human being and as a player.

And I have the feeling every game he's better and better.”

Pep Guardiola on Nico González working with Rodri: “Hopefully Rodri is back to train more often with him, right? But of course playing alongside a player with stature like Rodri, always you improve.”

Rodri has traveled with the Man City squad to Villarreal this week despite being ruled out for the game due to injury, Pep Guardiola confirms.

Guardiola: “I'm pretty sure he'll [Rodri] be bored at home when he retires, with nothing to do. I'm pretty sure he'll be involved in world football. But that's a question for him [whether he wants to coach in future].”

Pep Guardiola: “We've scored a lot, created a lot of clear chances, concede not much. But tomorrow [vs Villarreal] is another test... I have the feeling every game is better than the previous, and try to be worse than the next. This is always this part of the season, it doesn't define everything. We talk a lot about what we can do better, read better situations, we are on it.”

Guardiola on whether Nico needs to replicate Rodri: “He has to be himself... When you play with top, top players always you learn. If you're open and see 'how my game can be better', always you learn. But Nico has to be Nico. And there are things Nico is fantastic and others - just for age - he can be better.”

Pep Guardiola: “Rayan Cherki is one of the HUGE talents I've ever seen in my career; technically, individually - he's top!

“The question is how he settles in what we want to do, how he reads every action, and this started really well in the [Club] World Cup, but after had a few weeks off and step by step... I have the feeling most of times, not all the time, the ball comes to him, the situation is better. But not all the time he has to play making exceptional things. He has to play just football.

But he has something... The pass for Erling [Haaland] in the last moments [vs. Everton] or the many things he can do. And he's a guy I like a lot that he doesn't feel pressure, always wants to play with the ball, like a street player, 'Give me the ball, give me the ball!' But it's a short time here, and he needs a little bit of time.”

Pep Guardiola on Villarreal vs. Barcelona being held in Miami, Florida: “The question is for Mr. Tebas, not for me. I have nothing to say about that.”

Nico: “Nine months already?! It's been amazing. It's a dream to be in Man City. If you told me one year ago, I wouldn't believe all the experiences and how I've grown, so I'm really happy and very excited to keep improving and keep staying in Man City for a long time.”

Nico on working with Pep Guardiola: “It's really nice, but hard because you always have to keep improving. He always wants the best from everyone, which is why he's the best. And that's been really good for me, I think in the last months I've improved a lot. And that's why I play football, to become the best I can and I think I'm doing a good job.”

Nico: “Since I arrived, I think we've improved a lot. I think this year you can see in the last month and a half there's a different feeling that everything is going really well. I think at the end of last season we did really good, but now I feel we can do great things.”

Nico: “The main idea [of playing], I think I already understood before coming to Man City - which is something that I think helped me to get used to playing here in just nine months.”

Nico: “When I was young, I used to watch [Sergio] Busquets and after going to the [Barcelona] first-team I could play with him and learn a lot. It's maybe the player I've learned the most about. He was the player I used to look at and love watching and everything.”

Nico on Rodri: “When he's playing, he plays so good and makes us play really good.”

Nico on individual coaching from Pep Guardiola: “When to move; as a midfielder you have to move a lot, you have to run a lot, but you also need to move in the right moment. And that is, for example, some things that I've been working a lot with him.

He's trying to make me realise when I have to move to be the man free, and maybe that's the most important thing. When I talk to him, he always says when I have the ball I can keep the ball, play, but the moment I have to move is really important to be alone.”

Nico: “I'm really happy in the Premier League!”

Nico on Rodri: “He's one of the captains, and that's a really important role in this team. And he tries to, especially to the young players, advise us and make us understand more about the way we want to play.”

Nico's reaction to being told about Pep Guardiola's praise earlier in the press conference. 😆🩵

Nico: “Of course, I like that! I like to hear someone like him saying good things about me, so I hope my parents are proud of me!”

Manchester United were pushing to sign Sverre Nypan in summer 2024, but the answer was no. Celtic and Rangers were also rejected, as well as several Spanish and German clubs.

In winter 2024/25, Nypan checked in at @Aston_Villa and Arsenal with Man City appearing to have missed out, until Hugo Viana convinced Team Nypan to join the club.

Matchday in the UCL ✨