Pep Guardiola was delighted to see Ilkay Gundogan seal a "complete surprise" return to Manchester City but does not envisage a similar swoop for Raheem Sterling.
Gundogan returned to the Etihad Stadium on a one-year deal on Friday, just over 12 months after leaving the club to pursue a new challenge with Barcelona.
The midfielder won 14 trophies during a hugely successful initial stint at City between 2016 and 2023, making 188 Premier League appearances for the club.
Only 10 City players, meanwhile, have bettered his total of 44 Premier League goals for the club, while he also has 16 assists to his name in the competition.
Gundogan became available due to Barcelona needing to raise funds to complete the registration of new midfielder Dani Olmo, and while Guardiola was surprised to see the move go through, he is overjoyed to have his former captain back.
"When managers say, 'this is the transfer window, anything can happen', this is the real proof," Guardiola said as he previewed Saturday's meeting with Ipswich Town.
"It was a complete surprise, unexpected. We know him quite well, me personally but also the staff and players, and we know the quality he played with last season at Barcelona.
"He played at a high, high level, playing a lot of minutes and producing a lot. We didn't have any doubts when the possibility was open. We're absolutely delighted he's back.
"He knows everything so he doesn't need time to settle. If he has to play tomorrow then he knows everything. He is always in the right position and everyone is so thrilled he is back."
Gundogan's return has led to suggestions a similar move could be on the cards for Sterling, who is out of favour at Chelsea just two years after leaving the Etihad.
Sterling, who is second in City's all-time Premier League scoring charts with 91 goals, has been exiled from first-team training by new Blues boss Enzo Maresca and was stripped of the number seven shirt earlier this week.
Guardiola, though, would not indicate City are interested in the winger, saying: "He is a Chelsea player. I feel so attached with him because of the time we had together and I feel like that with all my players.
"But he is a Chelsea player. If you had asked me about Gundogan previously, I would have said he was a Barcelona player. I wish him all the best."
Asked whether City would make any further moves before the transfer window closes, Guardiola said: "I don't think so but I don't know.
"The market might provide us something that is financially good for us but at the moment I do not know."
Third-place 'doesn't mean anything', says Forest boss Nuno
Nottingham Forest leapfrogged into third place in the Premier League after a 3-0 victory against West Ham United, but Nuno Espirito Santo believes “it doesn’t mean anything.”
Forest took the lead through in-form striker Chris Wood before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina added two more following Edson Alvarez’s dismissal for a second yellow late in the first half.
It was a complete display for Nuno’s side, who have outperformed expectations so far this season, with this representing the first time Forest will end the day in the top three of the top-flight since 1998.
While the manager was proud of the achievement, he will not rest on his laurels this early in the season.
"It doesn't mean anything now. We have to keep going as it's a over long season ahead of us. Positive moment but we should keep going," Nuno told the press.
"I think all of us should be proud of the way we performed, we started the game well and controlled their threat while being positive going forward.
"The red card changed everything but the players understood not to be complacent. This is what football is about, fantastic moment for us and the fans."
Forest racked up an expected goals (xG) total of 2.08 while limiting West Ham to just 0.16 xG at the City Ground.
They had 19 shots, with six of those on target, leaving vice-captain Ryan Yates hungry for more by the final whistle.
"We were really getting into it at the end and we wanted more goals. Unfortunately mine didn't go in but we are delighted with today's work,” he told BBC 5 Live.
“[Nuno] can really implement the ideas. There are many things that have gone into why we were doing well. I think the recruitment has been fantastic. We have kept the core together and we are doing really well.”
City 'could not handle' Bournemouth, says Guardiola after shock defeat
Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City "could not handle" the intensity of Bournemouth after falling to a 2-1 defeat on the south coast.
Goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson saw City fall to a 2-0 deficit for the first time since January 2023 (against Tottenham), before Josko Gvardiol headed in what proved to be a consolation late on.
The defending champions had been struggling with injuries in the build-up to the fixture, leading to a bench with an average age of 23 years old.
Guardiola blamed those injury troubles for his side's failure to get back in the game at the Vitality Stadium.
"We knew we couldn't match the intensity. We have talked about it. It was an open game. We had chances at the end but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory," he told BBC Sport.
"The 50-50 balls in the middle, the duels, they play this type of game. They are so aggressive. They had six, seven days to prepare. They have physicality and speed, but you have to win these types of situations.
"We have few players with a lot of minutes and a lot of players with no minutes to the balance is a bit uncomfortable. We played good against Spurs but today we could not handle their intensity that they had and that's why we lost the game."
City still managed to accumulate a higher expected goals (xG) total, finishing on 1.8 compared to Bournemouth's 1.74.
That was boosted significantly when struggling Erling Haaland saw a header saved in stoppage time before crashing the rebound against the base of the post from close range.
"We had real good moments at the start of the second half and after that it was difficult to swallow as we were good. After we scored we had momentum and chances but couldn't score [again]," added Guardiola.
It was an entirely different story for the hosts, who registered a third home victory on the bounce, after defeating City's title rivals Arsenal in October.
"It was a great game. We did everything we could. We needed our very best performance and not the greatest game [from City] and that happened. It is very good to beat City and even better to beat them deservedly," enthused Andoni Iraola.
"It is very difficult. They are a great team. They have amazing subs and you have to suffer, stay compact. We suffered after a good game. We had the chance to finish it and not suffer too much at the end, but now we have to enjoy it.
“We know there are better teams than us but it is not easy to play here and we have to keep this level so everyone knows that when they come here it will not be an easy game."
The victory came in no small part due to the standout performances of Semenyo and Milos Kerkez
Semenyo was central to every Bournemouth attack and accumulated 0.56 xG and created three chances, the highest in his team.
Kerkez proved instrumental, too, delivering both assists off the left wing, first beating Kyle Walker to drive to the byline and cut back for Semenyo's opener, before providing a brilliant cross for Evanilson to prod in Bournemouth's second.
"They played very well the last few games and today they had the finishing product. Milos had two assists, we felt he deserved to get the numbers and I am happy as it was a complete performance," added Iraola.
"To beat a team like City you need everyone to play really well and they did."
Slot lauds Liverpool's second-half turnaround after being 'outplayed' by Brighton
Arne Slot commended Liverpool's second-half comeback, but acknowledged his side were "outplayed" in the opening 45 minutes of their 2-1 win against Brighton.
Just 128 seconds separated Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah's goals after Ferdi Kadioglu had given the Seagulls a 14th-minute lead with a stunning finish.
The Reds could have found themselves further behind in the first half, with Brighton squandering several opportunities to increase their advantage at Anfield.
Caoimhin Kelleher came to Liverpool's rescue to deny Georginio Rutter after he had been picked out by Yasin Ayari's searching pass in behind Virgil van Dijk.
Danny Welbeck then curled a free-kick narrowly wide before sending another set-piece close, with Brighton ending the half in the ascendency. The Seagulls registered seven shots to Liverpool's five, while also accumulating a 0.78 expected goals (xG) tally compared to the Reds' 0.71 before the break.
"We needed another second-half performance because we were outplayed in the first half. They were better on the ball, more aggressive without the ball," Slot said.
"Then, everything changed in the second half because it was completely the opposite.
"Our attackers scored the goals but the main difference was we were better positioned and we had the ball a lot more.
"Without the ball they made problems for us but in the second half we just kept running."
The win was Slot's eighth in the Premier League, the most of any Liverpool boss in their first 10 top-flight games.
But the difference proved to be in the Dutchman's substitutes, with both goals coming after the introductions of Luis Diaz and Curtis Jones.
Jones set up Salah for the winning goal, a strike Slot described as "special" in his post-match assessment.
"I was waiting for us to score the goal, but we didn't. That's why I made the substitutions. Both of them came on really strong," Slot continued.
"Then you can say it's a bit of luck, but the goalkeeper cannot react. The second goal was a Mo Salah special.
"It's not the first and not the last time he will score from that position."
Salah's curled finish was his 48th match-winning goal in the Premier League, with only five players netting more in the competition’s history.
The Egyptian also tallied up his 16th goal involvement (10 goals, six assists) against Brighton, only managing more in the top-flight against Manchester United (18).
Salah's latest contribution sent Liverpool top of the pile after Arsenal and Manchester City's losses, though captain Van Dijk was not getting carried away with their league position.
"It's too early to even make it important. We want to be on top of the league but we want to be there after the last match in May," Van Dijk told Sky Sports.
"The results have been good so far this season but there is a long way to go.
"It is still a work in progress. We stay humble and keep fighting."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
