Nathan Ake admitted to a sense of relief that Manchester City finally broke their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium curse to stay on track to defend their FA Cup crown.

The holders squandered a number of chances in Friday’s fourth-round tie at Spurs before Ake poked home from close range with two minutes left.

It represented City’s first goal at Tottenham’s new home at the sixth time of asking and the centre-back conceded it felt like being another night to forget until his timely intervention.

“So happy. It was tough but we played really well over the whole game. We just had to score and it didn’t happen again for a long time. I was thinking is it going to happen but luckily we got it,” Ake said.

“I think trusting the way we played (was key). We played really well, created numerous chances and just the belief to keep going. Even though we didn’t score, just to keep going, keep trying and in the end we got it.

“I thought it is never going to come but finally we’ve done it.”

The introduction of Kevin De Bruyne proved crucial and it was his corner which created Ake’s 88th-minute winner.

De Bruyne had been left red-faced six minutes earlier when he curled wide with only Guglielmo Vicario to beat, but made amends with an exceptional set-piece delivery.

The 1-0 win made it seven victories in a row for City, who remain in the hunt for another treble after claiming Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League success last season.

Ake told ITV: “I think it was important to go through, we want to fight for every competition and this was a big step forward.”

Following a lacklustre first half, all eyes were on when De Bruyne and fit-again Spurs playmaker James Maddison would get the nod to come on.

Maddison made his first appearance since he sustained ankle ligament damage on November 6, but only touched the ball six times as Tottenham struggled to gain a foothold in the contest.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou hoped Maddison would be better for his 17-minute cameo with games to come against Brentford and Everton next week.

“Knowing the nature of the game, he’s trained well this week-and-a-half but he’s missed a lot of football,” Postecoglou explained.

“We were hoping to get him some minutes, which he did and he should be right to go from now on, but there’s another two games next week and we need him and others to pitch in.

“So, yeah it wasn’t really much of a dilemma about whether to start him or not. I just felt that coming off the bench was going to be better for us as a team more than anything else.”

Pep Guardiola lauded an unbelievable performance from his Manchester City side after they ended their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium goal drought with a narrow 1-0 away win.

City had failed to score in their previous five trips to Spurs’ home and an FA Cup fourth-round replay looked on the cards when substitute Kevin De Bruyne inexplicably fired wide from 16 yards with eight minutes left.

The breakthrough did finally arrive for the visitors with 88 minutes on the clock when Guglielmo Vicario flapped at De Bruyne’s corner with Ruben Dias in close proximity and Nathan Ake poked home from close range to end the FA Cup holders barren run at Tottenham.

“Deserved it? I think so but football is about scoring, not conceding and the statistics were really good today,” Guardiola explained.

“If you see the stats from the past when we come here, we could not score and could not win.

“Yeah, we are really pleased of course to win against this team away, score a goal and go through. We defend the title and the way we play, we proved we defend it really well.

“Unbelievable. The performance was top, top class. These players prove again the reason why they have done what they have done in the past.”

City had the ball in the net after five minutes but Oscar Bobb was adjudged to be marginally offside after Vicario had thwarted Foden from close range.

Spurs barely had a kick in the first half and while Brennan Johnson was denied by Stefan Ortega at the start of the second period, it proved the hosts’ only shot all match.

Guardiola’s team continued to press for their maiden goal at Tottenham’s stadium and after Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne and substitute Jeremy Doku all failed to make the most of promising situations late on, Ake produced the goods with two minutes left.

It was a dangerous delivery from De Bruyne which caused panic in the Spurs box on only his third appearance since his lengthy lay-off following a serious hamstring injury sustained last season.

Asked if De Bruyne was fit enough to start, Guardiola said: “He is ready. Ready to play.

“Sooner or later he will play from the beginning, but it’s not just about that. For many reasons we want to protect him and Kevin, today I always knew he was going to create.

“These type of games at the end, it was a little bit more open and we had that feeling. It is important he feels good after his hamstring problem and he made an exceptional corner in the right spot. We knew it, so yeah it’s really good.”

Guardiola also reflected on the news on Friday morning that great rival Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool at the end of the season and dispelled any talk that he could follow suit.

“I am fine. Still one more year I want to do it and maybe extend (past 2025), so I am fine,” Guardiola insisted.

Meanwhile, opposite number Ange Postecoglou cut a frustrated figure after Spurs exited the FA Cup following a lacklustre display, which will all but ensure the club’s trophy drought will extend into a 17th year.

Postecoglou admitted: “We fought hard to stay in the game but to be honest that’s all we did, we stayed in the game.

“They’re a top team. They’re the benchmark. We’re not there yet and we’re under no illusion about that.

“I just felt that all of the second half was ok, the first half we were just too passive in a lot of our play and allowed them to get a rhythm.”

Nathan Ake’s 88th-minute tap-in helped Manchester City end their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo and progress into the FA Cup fifth round after a 1-0 away victory.

Pep Guardiola’s side had failed to score in their previous five visits to Spurs’ home and that unwanted record looked set to extend until Ake bundled home from close range after Guglielmo Vicario flapped at Kevin De Bruyne’s corner.

All eyes had been on De Bruyne and Tottenham playmaker James Maddison after a lacklustre first half and while the former helped break the deadlock, it was an uncharacteristic City goal that fired them to a seventh straight win.

Ange Postecoglou’s team could have little complaints and this cup loss means the club’s trophy drought will almost certainly extend into a 17th year.

These teams had played out a 3-3 draw at the Etihad last month, but both the club’s respective top goalscorers Son Heung-min and Erling Haaland were absent while playmakers Maddison and De Bruyne had to be content with a place on the bench.

City’s notoriously poor record at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was well documented and Guardiola’s side almost broke their duck in the fifth minute when Oscar Bobb tapped home on the goal line.

Bobb pounced after Vicario had denied Phil Foden from close range, but City youngster Bobb was adjudged by VAR to be marginally offside and it remained 0-0.

The visitors continued to seek a maiden goal at this venue and after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic had efforts blocked, Guardiola let out his first sign of exasperation when Josko Gvardiol sent a cross into the stand.

Spurs had barely had a kick but were given some unexpected respite when a three-minute delay to proceedings occurred due to one of Paul Tierney’s assistant referees having an issue with his technical equipment.

When play did get back under way, normal service resumed and a succession of last-ditch defending denied City in the 41st-minute with Bobb’s left-footed strike thwarted by Pedro Porro’s block.

Foden was the next to try his luck but fired wide from Bobb’s cut back to ensure it was goalless at the break.

Micky van de Ven made a vital intervention straight after half-time when Julian Alvarez had a sight of goal before Tottenham finally caused a moment of panic for the away side.

Timo Werner sent Brennan Johnson through on goal, but City’s back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega was out quick to dive at the feet of the forward.

It reenergised the home crowd although Guardiola turned to his ace in the pack with 65 minutes on the clock when De Bruyne was introduced.

Postecoglou followed suit eight minutes later and Maddison earned a hero’s reception on his return, but his first involvement was to bundle Silva to the floor in the penalty area.

Referee Tierney waved away appeals before Spurs and in particular Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg received two slices of luck.

A Hojbjerg air kick allowed Silva a chance but he fired straight at Vicario before Tottenham’s Danish midfielder gave away possession to Foden.

Foden teed up De Bruyne, who inexplicably curled wide from 16 yards and when Vicario saved from Jeremy Doku moments later, a replay was on the cards.

Ake had other ideas and when Vicario flapped at De Bruyne’s corner, the City defender was on hand to poke home and send the holders through to the last 16.

Erling Haaland is still out but Kevin De Bruyne is ready to start for Manchester City at Newcastle on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola has said.

Striker Haaland is still troubled by the foot injury that has sidelined him since early December.

The Premier League champions, however, are boosted by De Bruyne’s progress after the playmaker’s return from a lengthy lay-off as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s FA Cup victory over Huddersfield.

City also expect midfielder Jack Grealish to be available after illness, but defender John Stones is not yet ready to return from an ankle injury.

City manager Guardiola said at a press conference: “Jack has been sick. Hopefully today he’s back. Erling is out and John is out.”

De Bruyne said last week he expected to be on the bench at Newcastle, but asked if he could start, Guardiola said: “Yes. What I saw yesterday he looks really good and dynamic.

“The minutes he played were really good, better than the training sessions before the Huddersfield game when he was a little bit not what he is.

“But that’s normal when you come from five months of injury. He had highs and lows in the training sessions, but that is completely normal. The important thing is he is getting better.”

Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne as exceptional and unique after his impressive return to action in Manchester City’s FA Cup stroll against Huddersfield.

The Belgian playmaker appeared as a 57th-minute substitute and set up a goal as the holders breezed past the Championship strugglers 5-0 in a one-sided third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

It was De Bruyne’s first outing in five months after a long lay-off following hamstring surgery and his comeback is timely as City step up the intensity for the second half of the campaign.

City manager Guardiola said: “He played really good minutes. We thought it was better to play the second half than from the beginning when the game was tighter.

“It was so difficult to find space. They defended so so deep and were really well organised, compact.

“It was really good and now, as I said before, he needs to accumulate training sessions and more training sessions, more than games. Still he is not ready for 90 minutes.

“Kevin helps to win games and there are few (like him) in the world. We can play good football-wise but Kevin, (Erling) Haaland, Phil (Foden), Julian (Alvarez) – these guys win games.

“That’s why it’s so important to have him back. Kevin is exceptional, he is unique.

“He was a long time out with surgery. His first minutes, the quality of the assist for the Jeremy (Doku) goal – it’s really good to have him back.”

De Bruyne put the seal on City’s performance by teeing up City’s fifth goal for Doku, who was also making his return from injury.

Foden had already struck twice with Alvarez also on target and City benefiting from a Ben Jackson own goal.

Haaland was again absent through injury but, with a lighter schedule this month, Guardiola is hoping to get all his top names back as treble winners City again chase glory on three fronts.

He said: “What I want is to arrive in the second part of the season with everyone fit. I want Erling back, Kevin back, Jeremy and John (Stones). When they are back we have a team that can compete in different competitions until the end.”

Huddersfield manager Darren Moore hopes his side will learn from a difficult experience.

Moore said: “It was always going to be a tough game. We tried to come here and nullify the areas where Man City are excellent in and thought we did that to start off with.

“You have to try and start on a positive note and disrupt their passing rhythm, but when the first goal goes in and then there is quickfire second one, the game runs away from you a bit.

“The boys were just talking about the quality they were coming up against. Sometimes in moments of defeat it about the learning perspective and that is what we have taken from today.”

Kevin De Bruyne made an eye-catching return and Phil Foden struck twice as holders Manchester City thrashed Huddersfield 5-0 in the FA Cup third round.

Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku were also on target as City – further aided by an own goal – swept aside their Championship opponents in a one-sided third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The impact of the in-form Foden was again impressive but De Bruyne’s comeback, after five months out, was arguably of greater significance.

The Belgian was given just over half an hour at the end of the game and he marked the occasion by teeing up a goal for fellow returnee Doku.

His presence brought some of the biggest cheers of the afternoon from the home fans, whose noise was drowned out by that of the 6,000-strong visiting support early on.

Yet Huddersfield, not surprisingly given their struggles in the second tier this season, could not match the intensity of their fans as City, without hitting top gear, comfortably outplayed them.

The visitors resisted well for the opening half an hour, limiting Alvarez to a long-range shot which was comfortably saved by Lee Nicholls while Oscar Bobb had an effort unwittingly blocked by team-mate Rico Lewis.

The visitors showed some spirit by launching a handful of counter-attacks but the final ball was generally lacking.

Sorba Thomas did get through on goal on one occasion but he failed to beat Stefan Ortega and the offside flag indicated it would not have counted anyway.

City suffered a blow when Manuel Akanji limped off after a heavy challenge from Alex Matos, who was booked, but they soon began to step up the pressure.

Huddersfield were pegged back as Sergio Gomez had a low ball turned behind and a Foden shot was deflected to safety.

The opener came on 33 minutes as Mateo Kovacic slipped in Alvarez and his firm pass was well taken and rifled in by Foden at close range.

The second followed just four minutes later as Matheus Nunes linked with Foden and then found Lewis, who squared for Alvarez to stretch and poke home.

Bobb went close early in the second half as he cut inside but dragged his shot wide.

De Bruyne was introduced on 57 minutes in a double change that also saw Doku make his return from injury.

City claimed their third goal moments later as Nunes controlled a high ball and played wide to Bobb, whose attempted cross to De Bruyne at the far post flicked off Ben Jackson and looped into the net.

Huddersfield had a brief flurry as Thomas forced Ortega to save with his feet when through one on one but City’s fourth was not long in coming.

Again Foden did the damage, calmly stroking the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area from a well-worked short-corner routine.

De Bruyne created the fifth as he surged upfield, played a one-two with Bobb and then pulled the ball back for Doku to thump in on the half-volley.

Pep Guardiola has raised the tantalising prospect of unleashing Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne together in the centre of Manchester City’s attack.

Foden has hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks playing in the central attacking midfield role that De Bruyne had previously made his own.

That has raised the question of how the pair will be deployed once the inspirational De Bruyne returns from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since August.

City manager Guardiola said: “They are different players but it’s true that in the final third, in the decisive moments, both are incredible. The impact in goals, in passes is a lot.

“Phil is playing unbelievably lately in that position, in the threats, and he feels comfortable.

“In certain games, of course we can play both together in that position, in the pocket, in the middle, close to the box.

“In certain other games for the stability, maybe not. So we have to see day by day.”

The issue may not need to be resolved just yet with Guardiola not intending to rush De Bruyne back into action.

The Belgian was an unused substitute for last week’s Premier League victory over Sheffield United and any return to action is likely to be incremental.

“Right now I don’t ask to Kevin to play his best level,” said Guardiola, whose side host Sky Bet Championship club Huddersfield in the FA Cup third round on Sunday,

“We cannot force a player with a long injury in this kind of situation. From my experience as a football player, it happened quite similar. I was one year with hamstring problems. When you come back you need time.

“It’s not, ‘OK play, it’s the best Kevin’. You have to be relaxed, enjoy the minutes he’s going to play, try to win the games.

“Kevin maybe in 20 minutes can help us more right now than 90 minutes. After that his body will dictate how many minutes more he can get.”

City are the holders of the FA Cup and Guardiola has no intention of giving up the trophy lightly, even as they pursue further glory in the Premier League and Champions League.

Guardiola, twice a winner of the cup, has a strong affinity with the competition and does not want to see it marginalised as other events grow in importance.

He said: “Since day one here I’ve been asked about but it is not going to happen, reduced competition. Accept it.

“It is really, really important. It’s not friendly games here. We train every day for Huddersfield. We prepare incredibly well.

“The FA Cup is the FA Cup. You will not find one person in this club, in the locker room, who doesn’t love it.”

Kevin De Bruyne has been named in Manchester City’s squad for the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia later this month, organiser FIFA has announced.

The Belgium playmaker has not featured for the treble winners since undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury in August.

De Bruyne recently said his recovery was going well but he was not expecting to return to action until the new year.

The 32-year-old’s presence in City’s official 23-man squad for the tournament indicates his comeback is indeed on track, but whether he will actually be fit enough to feature in Jeddah remains to be seen.

At the very least, it will be an opportunity for De Bruyne to return to first-team training at a warm-weather camp.

De Bruyne said he still had “a little bit to go” when interviewed by Sky Sports at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 26 but hoped to be playing again “from close after new year”.

The Club World Cup begins on December 12 but City, who are representing Europe as the Champions League holders, do not enter until the semi-final stage seven days later.

They will play the winner of the second-round match between Mexican side Club Leon and Urawa Reds of Japan. The final takes place on December 22.

Pep Guardiola expects Tottenham to come at his Manchester City side at full throttle this weekend.

Spurs caught the eye playing dynamic and attacking football in a strong start to the Premier League season under new manager Ange Postecoglou.

The Londoners have come unstuck in recent weeks, losing their last three games and suffering injuries to key players, but their Australian manager has determinedly stuck to his principles.

“He’s been there from day one, from the first game of the Premier League,” said City boss Guardiola, whose treble winners host Spurs at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

“I have the feeling it doesn’t matter the result, it doesn’t matter the opponent, home or away – they do what they have to do.

“I like that. I think that is so incredible an advert for our game, for our sport. When two teams (decide it) doesn’t matter what happens, I do my game, I go forward, there are always nice things to watch, all the time.

“It’s impossible you don’t see an interesting game where both teams want to try to do it.”

City midfielder Mateo Kovacic is back in contention after injury and John Stones, and unused substitute for the last games, is also close to returning to action.

Kyle Walker, who has taken over the City captaincy so far this season with Kevin De Bruyne out injured, will face his old club.

“I’m really, really pleased about what he’s doing,” said Guardiola of the 33-year-old right-back.

“He’s the same guy who was involved before, when he wasn’t captain, but now the players decided to pick him, so he now has a little more responsibility.

“When there’s some problems in the locker room or whatever, captains tend to solve it.”

Jan Vertonghen does not believe there will be two players who dominate the Ballon d'Or during the next decade in the way Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have done.

Messi scooped his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or on Monday in Paris.

The 36-year-old led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year, and also enjoyed a fine individual season with Paris Saint-Germain.

This Ballon d'Or will almost certainly be Messi's last. Since 2008, he or Ronaldo have won every edition of the award bar two, with Luka Modric taking it in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022.

Messi finished ahead of Erling Haaland – who scored 52 goals in his first season at Manchester City – and his former club-mate Kylian Mbappe, who played a direct part in 50 goals in all competitions for PSG and was the World Cup's leading scorer.

While Haaland and Mbappe have been tipped to fight it out for the award over the next decade, former Tottenham and Ajax defender Vertonghen thinks the days of two players dominating are over.

"I don't think it's going to be two guys dominating for the next 15 years," Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform.

"There are a lot of massive talents. Obviously, you've got Haaland and Mbappe already there for a couple of years, but then if you look at [Jude] Bellingham, what he's doing now, [Jamal] Musiala, I love him, Phil Foden, Vinicius [Junior].

"Those are the young guys. I hope one day a defender or even a goalkeeper [can win]. Thibaut Courtois was very close the year [Real Madrid] won the Champions League.

"I'm probably forgetting 10 or 15 more names. With Belgium, we have a great couple of young guys. There's so many, and I hope one day it could go to a Belgian one."

Bellingham enjoyed a strong season with Borussia Dortmund, though has taken his play up to an elite level since his move to Real Madrid.

The England midfielder finished 18th in the overall voting, with Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala coming in 26th, 20 places behind Vinicius.

Kevin De Bruyne came fourth in the vote, and Vertonghen enthused over his compatriot's quality.

"Kevin, his passing ability is the one that stands out - you know that he is known for his assists and his vision, but he understands the game so well," he said.

"He knows how to use the space, where to run, he is very, very good in pressing which is something you don't really think of when you think of him, you think of assists, vision, scoring goals, but the way he is able to understand how a team builds up, he's just a genius of the pitch.

"Whenever I played against him with Tottenham, we would always try to build up on the other side because he's the one that will get the team going."

Pep Guardiola accepts Manchester City must adapt to the artificial surface they face in Switzerland this week – but claims “common sense” dictates grass is better.

The holders will play on unfamiliar terrain in their latest Champions League outing on Wednesday when they take on Young Boys on their synthetic pitch at the Wankdorf Stadium.

Guardiola insists there are no complaints on his part, and he has changed his team’s routine to ensure they are prepared.

Normally City do not take up the option available to them of training at the stadium when they play away games in Europe, instead preferring to work in Manchester before travelling.

However, on this occasion City flew to Bern on Tuesday morning and had a run out on the pitch in the evening.

Yet the City manager could not hide the feeling that he would prefer to be playing on a natural surface.

Speaking at a press conference, the Spaniard said: “It is what it is. If UEFA allows games to be played here it’s because it’s in good conditions.

“That’s one of the reasons we never train away but this is an exception. This is why we travel in the morning for the players to feel how the ball runs, how to move left, right, backwards, forwards. That’s why.

“We’ll try it and the players will know it immediately.”

Asked if he was concerned about injuries, Guardiola said: “I don’t know – hopefully not, for both sides, but I don’t know.

“We are not used to it. Any team that plays here is not used to it. It suits the Swiss league and, in the Champions League, the teams that come here have to adapt.

“We will not be the first in this situation. We have to use it as a benefit but the grass is better.”

Asked why, Guardiola said: “Because 99.9 per cent of the teams who play in a high level play on grass, otherwise UEFA and FIFA would decide to play on artificial pitches. It’s common sense, I would say.”

City go into their third match in Group G looking to maintain their 100 per cent record after victories over Red Star Belgrade and RB Leipzig.

Victory in their back-to-back games against Young Boys, who travel to the Etihad Stadium next month, could see City qualify for the knockout stages with two matches to spare.

City have no fresh injury concerns, with long-term casualty Kevin De Bruyne their only notable absentee.

Guardiola also played down concerns about the form of Jack Grealish, who is taking time to get back to his best after a month out with a dead leg.

The City boss said: “I don’t have one doubt about Jack and his quality and what he has done for us since he arrived, especially last season. I’m calm and confident. He is an incredibly important player for us.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola doubts Sunday’s visit to Arsenal will have a significant impact on who wins the Premier League this season.

Arsenal flourished under former City assistant Mikel Arteta last season but settled up for a runners-up spot as Guardiola’s side claimed a third successive top-flight triumph en route to a historic treble.

The Gunners are unbeaten after seven matches of this campaign and lie one point behind City, who are bidding to bounce back from last weekend’s surprise 2-1 defeat at Wolves.

Guardiola, though, insisted this showdown being so early in the season places less of an emphasis on the title race, even if he regards Arsenal as one of their main rivals.

He said: “This will not define a lot. It will be different when they come here at the Etihad (at the end of March) – then it will depend on the situations we are in.”

Instead Guardiola’s main focus in the weeks ahead is on guaranteeing progression from their Champions League group, having started the defence of their crown with wins over Red Star Belgrade and Leipzig.

He said: “We know where we came from with the treble. After that the tendency is to go down. We can play better or worse but in general in the training sessions the focus is there.

“We made an incredible step forward in the Champions League. In this month, the Champions League is the most important thing by far, until February when it starts again.

“What I want is to arrive here in February when we start the Champions League to be in the competitions and that it’s close. To be close to the top of the league and keep the distance short and make the last 10 games in our competition ‘let’s do it again’.

“(If you qualify for the Champions League knockout stages) you can focus on the Premier League until it is back again. We made a big step on Wednesday (by beating Leipzig), now we have Arsenal.”

Guardiola will be without Rodri this weekend as the midfielder serves the final game of a three-match domestic suspension while John Stones and Kevin de Bruyne remain on the sidelines.

De Bruyne is a long-term absentee after undergoing hamstring surgery but his absence has not unduly troubled City, who have found the back of the net at least once in every league game this season.

Guardiola said: “Since I arrived we scored a lot of goals, a lot. We have this ability with proper strikers, false nines, wingers, different pressing, different build ups. I am delighted with everyone.”

If City lose at the Emirates Stadium, it would mark the first time they have been beaten in successive league games since December 2018.

Asked to pinpoint why they have been so successful in bouncing straight back from a defeat, Guardiola added: “It shows what we have done. It is the exception – what we have done is incredible.”

Kyle Walker will continue wearing the Manchester City captain’s armband for now – but has refused to reveal who the long-term skipper will be.

The England right-back has led City so far this term after previous incumbent Ilkay Gundogan left the club following last season’s treble success.

As in previous campaigns, the squad have held a vote to determine the make-up of the players’ leadership group, from which a senior figure usually emerges as captain.

Walker has revealed that this season the group comprises of himself, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva but has given no further information.

That could suggest De Bruyne, who is currently sidelined through injury, is the player who will ultimately take up the mantle but Walker insists it does not matter who it is.

“There is a captain but I just feel out of respect to everyone that’s involved in it, there’s no numbers,” said the England international.

“We’re a team and we (the leadership group) are a team inside a team, and whoever wears the armband or has the armband on the day, is going to wear the armband until the time is right, until certain members in that captaincy group feel it’s right to announce the number or the order.

“That’s what we’ll do but, until then, I’m wearing the armband because I was the third captain last season and I’ll continue to wear it for the rest of the season until the time’s right.

“I don’t even think it’s really necessary. We’re a team inside a team.”

City, after winning their opening five Premier League games, continued their strong start to the season with a comfortable 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.

Walker feels City are constantly evolving as manager Pep Guardiola bids to keep his side ahead of their rivals.

He said: “I think that’s Pep being Pep. I think teams work us out, teams find the strategy of how they feel that they’re going to play or defend against us.

“When we can build up in different ways, I think that puts another tool in our toolbox where we can change it mid-game and it seems to be working for us.

“He’s got the key ingredient. He knows when’s right to let certain players go, bring players in, freshen things up here, give people challenges here and there.

“He’s got a fine balance and how to do it and it seems to work, not just here but at the number of teams that he’s been at because he’s been very successful.”

Julian Alvarez is revelling in his partnership with Erling Haaland in Manchester City’s attack.

The Argentinian World Cup winner continued his strong start to the season with two goals as the holders began their Champions League title defence with a comfortable 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday.

An injury for Kevin De Bruyne has seen Alvarez handed a run of games in support of prolific centre forward Haaland and it is a role he is relishing.

“I am very happy with the goals, to help the team,” the 23-year-old said. “We are doing well, we are winning – which is the most important thing – and playing good games.

“I am trying to adapt and I continue growing in this position, where I am moving freely, to give the team another option and add to the attack.”

Alavarez was the dominant figure in City’s forward line as they threatened to overwhelm Red Star in their opening Group G game at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet despite creating a plethora of chances – with Haaland hitting the bar and goalkeeper Omri Glazer making several saves – City fell behind to an Osman Bukari strike just before half-time.

Alvarez began the fightback with a fine dinked finish after the restart and then put Pep Guardiola’s side ahead when his free-kick was inadvertently punched into the goal by Glazer.

Rodri wrapped up a thoroughly deserved victory with a typically composed finish 17 minutes from time but, again, City could have had several more. Haaland went the closest when he hit the goal frame for a second time.

“We played a good game,” said Alvarez. “It was important to start with a win and three points at home in this difficult competition. We are very happy.

“We had many chances we could not convert but Pep told us to keep doing what we were doing and the goals would come.

“It was the same in the previous game where we were losing and came back, so it was fine. We always try to stay calm, play well in the second half and win.”

Alvarez was not a regular starter last season, despite his starring role in his country’s World Cup triumph, but Guardiola believes he can do an important job in easing the goalscoring burden on Haaland.

Guardiola said: “It’s the same player as last season but being a World Cup winner doesn’t mean you have to play all the time.

“Last season we had Kevin and (Ilkay) Gundogan in that position. Kevin was in top form and Gundo was incredible.

“In that moment sometimes it was difficult to find spaces but I never had a doubt.

“Now Gundo has gone and Kevin unfortunately is injured. We need players to be close to Erling, don’t put all the responsibilities just on the shoulders of Erling to score all the goals.

“That’s why when Phil (Foden) has played there, when Julian plays there, we have the feeling that we create a lot of chances.”

Manchester City signed Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg, on this day in 2015.

City paid a then club-record fee, reported to be in the region of £54million, for a man who has been at the heart of what they have achieved since.

The 24-year-old, who arrived in the Premier League as Germany’s footballer of the year, signed an initial six-year contract to launch the latest, spectacularly-successful phase of his career.

Born in the Drongen district of Ghent, De Bruyne began his professional career at Genk and was a Belgian title-winner in 2010-11, prompting Chelsea to invest £6.7million in his services in January 2012, although he remained at his first club for the remainder of that campaign before joining Werder Bremen on a season-long loan deal.

The midfield schemer finally made his Blues debut in a 2-0 Premier League victory over Hull in August 2013, providing the assist for Oscar’s opening goal in an impressive display.

However, that proved to be one of only nine senior appearances for the club and he was sold to Wolfsburg in the January of the following year.

Speaking shortly before his £18million departure for the Bundesliga, then Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said: “We know that Kevin didn’t adapt very well to the difficult life a Chelsea player has.”

If English football had proved testing for the blossoming Belgian, he found his feet in style in Germany and returned to the Premier League as one of the most promising talents in the world game when he arrived at the Etihad Stadium.

He said at the time: “I just want to win. I won two cups at Wolfsburg and I just want to keep on winning and I think here’s a good chance to win some titles with a team who have a lot of quality players.”

That has proved something of an understatement.

Since making his City debut as a substitute in a 1-0 league win at Crystal Palace on September 12, 2015, De Bruyne has helped the club win the Champions League, five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the League Cup on five occasions.

Twice named PFA footballer of the year, he has also been capped 99 times and scored 26 goals for Belgium, whom he has represented at three World Cup finals tournaments.