Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland could adapt his game to play in any country after a hugely impressive first season in the Premier League.
City signed Haaland from Germany's Borussia Dortmund, while he previously played in Austria for Salzburg and his native Norway for Molde.
Although his link-up play has occasionally been criticised, Haaland's goalscoring talent has endured across every league.
He has 27 goals already in the Premier League, closing on the single-season record of 34, but Guardiola expects it would be a similar story in any division.
Asked if Haaland was particularly well suited to playing in England, Guardiola replied: "And I would say in Germany, in Spain, in Italy, in Norway, in Congo, everywhere.
"These types of players adapt everywhere; in Africa, South America, no problem."
Haaland's goals tally might have been even more impressive had Kevin De Bruyne performed on a slightly more consistent basis this season.
Guardiola is sticking by the midfielder, however, acknowledging his team since arriving at City has been "Kevin and 10 more".
"If Kevin is fit, he is ready," the manager said, also confirming Kyle Walker would be available to face Crystal Palace following an incident at a club that was captured on CCTV. The England defender appeared to pull his trousers down, with Cheshire Police looking into the matter.
City will hope to beat Palace on Saturday and again apply pressure to league leaders Arsenal, who responded last week by dramatically beating Bournemouth.
That result was huge for Arsenal, but Guardiola insisted it had no adverse impact on City.
"Of course we take a look. We have to do our job and take a look," Guardiola said. "You see it's 0-2 and after 2-2 and after it's six minutes extra time, they score after.
"So, it's a pity. It would be better with a draw.
"We have to admit we are used to this for Liverpool. How many times in the last few seasons they scored in the last minutes at Anfield? How many?
"It was one of the biggest talents for Liverpool to scored in the last minute. I've lived it in the last three, four years, when we fought against them and battled many, many times."
David De Gea says Manchester United are ready for one more ‘special’ battle
Manchester United have fought for success all year and David De Gea says they are ready for one more “special” battle against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge has been one of progress and, for the most part, positivity, with the side finishing third in the Premier League and sealing a Champions League return.
The Dutchman is only the second manager in United’s history to win a major trophy in his first season and has the chance to add to February’s Carabao Cup triumph this weekend.
Ten Hag’s Red Devils head to Wembley for the first all-Manchester FA Cup final, when they will attempt to add to their cabinet and stop rivals City’s attempts to win the treble.
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“We have to recover well and start to prepare for the game,” De Gea said. “Of course, we know it’s a big final, a special game.
“We’ve been the whole year fighting to be in that position to win titles and we will try absolutely everything to try to win.”
De Gea and his team-mates were all in at Carrington on Monday morning, with Sunday’s starters focused on recovery from the 2-1 comeback win against Fulham at a bouncing Old Trafford.
Kenny Tete had put the visitors ahead in the Premier League season finale and Marco Silva’s men would have extended their lead had Golden Glove winner De Gea not stopped Aleksandar Mitrovic’s spot-kick.
United kicked on after that, with Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes completing a victory that saw them beat Newcastle to third spot.
“We concede the first goal from a corner and then I think five minutes after we concede a penalty,” De Gea, whose contract has yet to be extended beyond the summer, said.
“I was very positive. I was feeling like ‘come on, you have to save this penalty, we have to finish properly the season at home, we have to win’.
“Then I make the save, everyone was happy, enjoying and I helped the team to win the three points today.
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“The manager wants us to be focused every game, winning every game. Before the game he was shouting before ‘come on guys, we have to finish properly, winning mentality’.
“So, yeah, we showed it again. 1-0 down, suffering a bit, but then we create chances and could have scored even more than two.
“But, like I say, a big way to finish the season with a victory and (it) gives a bit of enjoyment to the fans.”
The result saw United equal the club’s record of 27 home wins in all competitions in a single campaign, while also meaning they finished 17 points better off than last season.
“100 per cent, for sure, the improvement is there,” De Gea told MUTV. “Of course we still have a gap to improve but, yeah, a massive improvement from last season.
“Winning a cup, finish third – it’s never easy to finish in the Champions League places in England.
“And then we have another final, a big final, so I think at the moment it is a great year.”
As for Fulham, the defeat at Old Trafford was frustrating but this was a season to cherish having finished 10th on their return to the top-flight.
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Goalscoring right-back Tete said: “Unbelievable season, every single player.
“If you saw how we fought all season for every single point. Not even one game was easy for us.
“I am just proud of the boys. We said it as well to each other and this is something we have to build on.
“We know now what our standard is, we know now what we can bring. I can’t wait for next season.”
Roberto De Zerbi says Brighton must build stronger squad for European challenge
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi admits the Seagulls will need to spend ahead of their European debut.
They have qualified for the Europa League for the first time in their history after finishing sixth in the Premier League.
Brighton had already wrapped up sixth spot before Sunday’s final day 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa and De Zerbi knows they will need to expand their squad to cope with the demands of European competition.
“We are not ready to play three games in a row, three games per week. We are not used to playing three games in a row,” he said.
“We have to work in the transfer market, we have to build a stronger squad, with more players and then we have to improve.
“The result we achieved this year was incredible, Tony (Bloom), me and Paul Barber, we have the dream to improve this result.
“The season is finished which is bad news for me – it’s difficult without football. I will go to Italy and will work with Tony Bloom and the club to improve the squad.
“This season was fantastic and we have to try and repeat it.”
Deniz Undav’s goal was not enough to rescue a point after Brighton fell 2-0 down inside 30 minutes at Villa following strikes from Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins.
Victory earned Villa seventh in the Premier League and a Europa Conference League play-off spot, returning to Europe for the first time in 13 years.
Boss Unai Emery said: “It’s important because we’re going to be one step ahead in our objective to be in Europe. To play in the Conference League is very important.
“We’re adding the possibility of another trophy because it’s very difficult in the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Our objective and ambitions will be to try and always be a candidate to get a trophy.
“To play in Europe for the club and the coaches, because I was playing 15 years in a row in Europe, so to get that again next year is fantastic for me individually and I’m very happy playing in Europe.”
‘We will be back’ says Leicester chairman following relegation
Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has dismissed calls from some supporters to sell the relegated club and promised the Foxes will soon return to the Premier League.
Despite beating West Ham 2-1 on Sunday, Leicester dropped into the Sky Bet Championship seven years after being crowned champions of England and two seasons since winning the FA Cup.
It is a remarkable fall from grace and one that Leicester chairman Srivaddhanaprabha says has led to him receiving offensive messages, some of which have been “outright abusive”.
“I have received a massive number of messages from our fans – both positive and negative,” Srivaddhanaprabha said in a statement published on the Leicester website.
“Some want me to sell the club, some using offensive and thoughtless words, and some have been outright abusive.
“But for every hurtful message I have received, I have also received messages of support, of appreciation, of unity – both remotely and from people I have met anonymously in public, who always come to say hello to me and to my family. It means a lot to us.”
Srivaddhanaprabha’s father Vichai and his family bought the club in 2010 and took Leicester into the Premier League four years later. Leicester produced possibly English football’s greatest underdog story by winning the title in 2016.
Club chairman Khun Vichai was killed in a helicopter accident at Leicester’s King Power Stadium in October 2018.
“It was the most painful experience for me and for my family, but the support and love we received from our Leicester City family made our bond even stronger,” Srivaddhanaprabha said of the accident.
“I made a commitment, as chairman, to continuing to pursue the ambition my father and I shared for the club, to ensure that the realisation of his vision for Leicester City would ultimately become his legacy.
“We want to thank you and let you know that we still have the same ambition for Leicester City that we had 13 years ago.
“The incredible support we had in our stadium yesterday, the positive messages we have received from our fans and the constructive comments we must take on-board – we will gather all this support and use it to power our recovery.
“Power to justify our fans’ belief in their club. Power to take us back to the Premier League.
“Next season is going to be tough, but it will be a year for collaboration and unity. We will come together and fight to return to the Premier League.”
Leicester finished fifth twice as well as eighth during manager Brendan Rodgers’ three full seasons in charge.
But Srivaddhanaprabha acknowledged the impact of Covid had a serious effect on the club’s finances, with summer cutbacks meaning that Rodgers was unable to significantly strengthen his squad.
The departures of long-serving goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to Nice and defender Wesley Fofana to Chelsea also had a detrimental effect on the squad.
Rodgers left at the end of April with Leicester in the bottom three, and his replacement Dean Smith was unable to prevent relegation after taking charge for the final eight games.
Srivaddhanaprabha said: “Relegation is a consequence of 38 games and over that period, we haven’t been good enough.
“Over the coming days and weeks, we need to reflect on the processes and decisions that have brought us to this point.
“What we learn from this experience must convert into action that makes us stronger and prevents this happening to us again in the future.
“We took Leicester City into the UEFA Champions League, giving our supporters those amazing Wednesday nights, under the lights in Porto, Brugge, Copenhagen, Seville and Madrid.
“We used the fruits of that success to keep reinvesting in the club, strengthening our squad, improving the experience for our fans and starting plans for major projects like Seagrave and a stadium expansion that would give us long-term strength and growth.
“Of course, these milestones place our situation today into quite stark context, but I reference them to highlight the progress we have made as a club in the last 13 years, which gives me confidence that we will build again.
“Relegation is undeniably a significant setback, but it will not define us. Today we share the loss and the pain together. But we will be back.
“This responsibility that I continue to live is one of the greatest responsibilities in my life and I will continue to put everything into it – my passion, that of my family and the entire King Power community.”
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