Pep Guardiola has reiterated his belief that Phil Foden can play in a number of attacking positions.
England manager Gareth Southgate suggested people should “speak to Pep” earlier this week after being asked why he seemed reluctant to play the midfielder in a central position for his country.
Southgate’s inference was that, as Foden tends to play in wider roles at Manchester City, it made it difficult for him to deploy the 23-year-old centrally in international games.
City manager Guardiola was indeed asked about this as he held a press conference on Friday to preview the champions’ Premier League trip to West Ham this weekend.
“I have an incredible relationship with Gareth,” said Guardiola, who returned to work this week after back surgery. “A comment from me? It looks like I disagree with him and I completely agree with him.
“When you play outside it is a completely different role but he knows, I know, that Phil can play in all positions up front – in the middle, outside right, left, in the pockets.
“But, as Gareth has said, in the pockets you have another responsibility, especially without the ball. Sometimes you don’t have to be so smart to read what happens every moment.
“But the important thing is Phil can play in the five positions up front without a problem and this is a big, big advantage for him.
“I saw the friendly game against Scotland. He started playing in the right, but moved and was most of the time inside. So the players move right, left, inside, outside. In the end it’s not a big issue.”
Saturday’s game at the London Stadium will see Guardiola back at the helm after missing two matches whilst recovering from his back operation.
In his absence, the treble winners maintained their 100 per cent to their title defence as assistant Juanma Lillo oversaw victories over Sheffield United and Fulham.
Guardiola said: “I’m getting better, three weeks after surgery. The doctor made a good job and, step by step, I think every week will be better.”
City received further good news this week as England right-back Kyle Walker agreed a two-year extension to his contract at the Etihad Stadium, committing him to the club until 2026.
Walker, who had a spell out of favour last season, recently admitted he came “close” to joining Bayern Munich over the summer but ultimately decided to stay.
Guardiola said: “It’s really important – like the extension from Nathan (Ake), Bernardo (Silva), Rico (Lewis) and Scotty Carson.
“Kyle is an important figure for us. Even his mates demanded he could not leave. His mind is there, he’s here on the pitch and loving it and football will not be a problem because he has a gene like few players I’ve seen.”
City announced Walker’s new contract by releasing a video starring the player in a ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ parody.
Guardiola said: “Our club is getting better in these social media departments. It was really, really good. The guy who has the idea, chapeau – hats off.”
Silva grateful Fulham's dominance was rewarded with late win
Marco Silva believes Fulham claimed a "deserved win" against Brentford, though admits they should have secured the three points much earlier in their 2-1 victory.
It looked like Vitaly Janelt's 24th-minute strike against the run of play was going to wrap up all three points for Brentford, but Harry Wilson proved the Cottagers' hero off the bench, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch the three points.
Fulham had dominated from the first whistle and had 26 shots, 12 of which were on target, though they struggled to find a way past their opponents' staunch defence until the 92nd minute.
Wilson became just the sixth player to score an equalising and match-winning goal from the 90th minute onwards in the Premier League, while his second goal was Fulham's latest-ever Premier League winner at 96:46.
Silva was delighted with how his team pushed until the final seconds to ensure they came away with a win.
"It was definitely a deserved win. We started on the front foot and dominated all the game. In the first 20 minutes, we had two clear chances to score," Silva told BBC Sport.
"After they scored, we didn't lose the confidence and the trust in ourselves, we kept pushing them back, and we created enough to not be losing at half-time.
"I told the players this is football, it can happen, but we have to keep pushing, working hard and playing our way.
"It was late, it should've been much before, but that's football."
Brentford, meanwhile, have now dropped a league-high 14 points from winning positions in the Premier League as they suffered a fifth consecutive away defeat in the competition.
In fact, they are the first side in the competition's history to score the first goal in four consecutive away games and lose all four.
They had defended resolutely until their late lapse in concentration, and even had a chance to win it, only for Bernd Leno's impressive save to keep out Fabio Carvalho in the 95th minute.
Thomas Frank, though, admitted he was not yet ready to take the positives from the performance after the disappointment of their late defeat.
"It was tough. It is emotionally very tough right now," Frank told Sky Sports.
"When you are leading in the 92nd minute, and you lose, it is tough. I don't think we hit our highest level. I think on the day Fulham were better.
"There was a lot of good defending and effort, and I thought that would have given us the win. We could have won it with the chance for Fabio Carvalho and then we lost.
"When we look at the game back, and we are more cool-headed, we will probably be very happy with the defensive standard. I thought there were unbelievable blocks, and recovery runs and all that we did well. On the ball, we didn't do enough."
Guardiola expecting challenging season for injury-hit Man City
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's current injury problems will make it harder for them to repeat the success of recent years.
Depleted by a number of injuries to key players, the Premier League champions saw a 32-game unbeaten league run ended by a loss at Bournemouth on Saturday after a midweek reverse at Tottenham in the EFL Cup fourth round, marking the first time City have lost successive matches in all competitions since September 2023.
While Guardiola says he is aware of the expectations surrounding his team, he knew they were likely to suffer more defeats due to injuries and the increasing level of their opponents.
"I know our standards, but we've lost just one game. Maybe we are going to lose again in the Premier League against Brighton and against Tottenham and against Liverpool," Guardiola told reporters, referring to their next three Premier League games.
"We are just two points behind Liverpool, who are a top-class team. We've started well in the Champions League, but I know people expect us to win 38 league games and win the treble every season as these are our standards.
"The reason it is difficult is because we have had a lot of absentees, which can happen in some seasons.
"Sometimes, to win the treble, everything has to be on the same page with injuries, but this is not possible this time. The teams are very strong and everything is more difficult, and we have to accept that. That is the challenge."
City will be without Ballon d'Or winner Rodrigo and Oscar Bobb for most of the campaign, while John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias remain sidelined and have not travelled to Portugal.
Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker still have problems despite being in the squad, Guardiola said, and Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho are improving, while Erling Haaland is fit.
City sit third in the Champions League standings after two wins and a draw and are looking for a third consecutive European win at Portuguese champions Sporting CP, who are eighth but also have seven points and are unbeaten across all competitions this season.
Guardiola's side claimed a resounding 5-0 win at Sporting when they met in the 2022 Champions League last 16, and are looking to extend their record run of unbeaten games to 27 in the competition.
"They play quite similar like we faced two seasons ago, the pattern is so clear," Guardiola added.
"They have changed players but have the same manager and same mentality," he said, referring to Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who will take over at Manchester United at the start of the international break.
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
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