Manchester City's Julian Alvarez hopes to offer Pep Guardiola's side "different solutions" this season, having marked his competitive debut with a goal.
The forward netted a second-half equaliser for City in the Community Shield against Liverpool at the King Power Stadium, cancelling out Trent Alexander-Arnold's opener, though Jurgen Klopp's side would go on to win 3-1 thanks to Mohamed Salah's penalty and Darwin Nunez's late header.
Alvarez's goal saw him catch the eye in what was otherwise a disappointing attacking display from City.
The 22-year-old had just two touches inside the box during his 32-minute spell off the bench, but was a livewire down the right-hand side after replacing Riyad Mahrez, and his goal saw him become the third Argentine to score in the Community Shield, after former City stars Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez.
Signed for a reported £14million from River Plate in January, then loaned back to the South American giants until the end of last season, Alvarez will likely be a supporting member of the City cast in the year ahead due to competition from Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, though the latter endured a domestic bow to forget in Leicester.
Premier League rule changes now mean that managers can utilise five substitutes off the bench, however, which should see Alvarez earn more opportunities, and he has vowed to use his versatility to offer alternative options for Guardiola.
"Obviously, I'm very happy for scoring my first goal with City, but that stays aside because it wasn't the result we wanted to start the season winning the trophy," he told City TV.
"Always I try to give my best in training, I've shown I can play different positions at my clubs and with the national team.
"I can offer alternatives to the team with this versatility, I can offer different solutions and I want to give my best to help the team."
City's attention is now cast towards the start of their Premier League title defence, which begins away to West Ham on August 7, and Alvarez is confident it will be another successful campaign despite Saturday's defeat to their rivals.
"It's tough, obviously we didn’t want to start this way. We don't like to lose. We need to keep working," he added.
"It's going to be a good season to fight for all the trophies and we need to carry on working this way.
"Liverpool have shown in the last years how good they are. They're a great team with great players. So [are] City.
"It was a good test to start the season, we played well and played at a good level but we need to keep working to get the results."
Jess Park enjoying ‘incredible’ spell with title-chasing Manchester City
Jess Park admits it has been an “incredible” last few weeks having seized the opportunity she was waiting for.
With Jill Roord sidelined after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January, Park, on loan at Everton last term, came into the Manchester City midfield for her first Women’s Super League start this season when champions Chelsea visited the Joie Stadium in February.
The 22-year-old promptly set up the early Khadija Shaw finish that proved the only goal in that contest and has since scored three times and provided three assists across four further WSL victories for title-chasing City last month, including a 3-1 Etihad Stadium triumph over Manchester United in which she notched a brace and teed up Shaw once again.
Park, the Barclays Player of the Month for March, also earlier this month returned to the England starting line-up for the first time in more than a year.
“It’s been incredible,” she told the PA news agency.
“It’s kind of hard to put it into words and I still think I’m reflecting on it but trying to look forward as well. We’re in an important position so I need to keep looking at the next game, but I am very happy with how it’s gone.
“I’ve been working really hard since being back from Everton (for whom she registered five goals and five assists in 22 appearances). I feel like I got a lot of confidence from last season and I’ve just been waiting for that moment to make an impact and it came and I’ve been able to keep that going.”
Park, whose City debut came aged 16 back in 2017, added: “Last year to start in games against every team, it was experience I needed.
“I’d trained really hard for however many years with City and I just needed that exposure to the playing time, and I think that really helped me coming back this season, knowing that when I get that opportunity I’m ready to play.
“I always had that drive to play and you think ‘is it going to come’, but I think I’m a patient person and I’ll work hard no matter what.
“We (Park and City boss Gareth Taylor) have a lot of conversations, what I can work on, get better at, and putting the little pieces together, and that gave me a lot of trust in him, and it felt like he trusted me.
“So I always felt like it would come at some point, I just needed to keep being patient and doing the things he’s telling me to.”
Brough-born Park – who says her current central role “feels a lot more natural” having played it growing up before being utilised on the wing – was a City fan as a child.
And she described the recent derby as an “incredible moment” adding: “I’d never played at the Etihad before so I was really looking forward to it, really excited and nervous – but as soon as the whistle went, I knew what I was doing and we knew as a team.
“We all played fantastic. I’d been working so hard at the end product bit and it just kind of all came together in that game.”
Of her watching parents, she said: “They were really proud, they always believe in me and were just happy I got the moment to show other people what they’ve seen in me the whole time.”
Park has emerged as a key player in a City side who have won each of their last 12 WSL games and are behind leaders Chelsea on goal difference ahead of Sunday’s home clash with West Ham, one of four remaining games.
“As a team we’re just all really focused on what we want to do,” Park said.
“We have the goal and all we can do is control what we can and we’ll work hard at that every game, step by step. As long as we keep doing what we do well, anything could happen.”
Football rumours: Arsenal keen on signing Alexander Isak and Michael Olise
The Guardian reports that Arsenal are considering bringing in a striker and winger this summer, with Newcastle forward Alexander Isak and Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise among their targets.
Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has managerial options outside of Bayern Munich and will make a decision in the next week or so, his agent says via the Metro.
Ex-Liverpool and Everton boss Rafael Benitez will take over as manager at Sao Paulo, less than month after he was sacked by Celta Vigo, claims The Sun.
Chelsea are preparing for offers from Liverpool and Ligue 1 outfit Paris St Germain for England international defender Levi Colwill.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchBenjamin Sesko: Chelsea and Manchester United are monitoring the RB Leipzig forward, who has a 50 million euro (£42.8 million) release clause, says Ben Jacobs.
Serge Gnabry: Tottenham are interested in the former Arsenal forward, with Bayern Munich willing to sell the Germany international, reports Football Insider.
On this day in 2021: Spurs sack Jose Mourinho days before Carabao Cup final
Jose Mourinho was sacked as manager of Tottenham on this day in 2021, less than a week before he was due to lead them out for the Carabao Cup final.
Spurs’ Premier League form was what ultimately cost the Portuguese his job, with his last match in charge a 2-2 draw with Everton which left Tottenham seventh, five points off the Champions League places and with just one win from their last five league games.
Mourinho’s dismissal after just 17 months at the helm was announced hours after Tottenham had confirmed they intended to join a breakaway European Super League, plans that were swiftly aborted after fans’ backlash, although that was unrelated to the Portuguese’s axing.
The 58-year-old was denied the chance of delivering the club’s first piece of silverware in 13 years, with academy coach Ryan Mason put in caretaker charge as Tottenham lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the EFL Cup showpiece.
Spurs striker Harry Kane, whose form that season had been a bright spot with 47 goal contributions in 43 games, wrote on Twitter: “Thank you for everything Boss. A pleasure to have worked together. I wish you all the best for your next chapter.”
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy spoke of his regret following Mourinho’s departure, having long coveted the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss.
Levy said on the club’s official website: “Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a club.
“Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the (Covid-19) pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged.
“He will always be welcome here and we should like to thank him and his coaching staff for their contribution.”
Mason remained steward until the end of the season before making way for Mourinho’s fellow Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo, who had a disappointing four-month spell in charge
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