OptaJoe ✔ @OptaJoe
10 - Gabriel Jesus has been involved in 10 goals in nine Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium (eight goals, two assists). Settled.

TheGoodJoe:
OptaJoe ✔ @OptaJoe
10 - Gabriel Jesus has been involved in 10 goals in nine Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium (eight goals, two assists). Settled.

Absolute attacking football!!!up city!!!

Don't know if any of u visit redcafe or bluemoon forum but that place is totally lit up with mcfc praise.[img][/img][img][/img]

I expected Pep to rotate two or three players. The fact that he hasn't shows how set he is on beating Napoli, no compromises.

David Silva is in form and he's like the 3rd or 4th best player in the side. Let that sink in.

great game today. love the way we handle the pressure towards the end of the match . but wat caused the fuse btw kdb and Silva at half time?

it was ex-citizen night against Chelsea. Kolarov scored one and assisted one for Dezko who scored twice.

Pep Guardiola: 'Manchester City can continue improving'



Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged his players to push on from their breathtaking start to the season by becoming even better.

The Citizens boast a record Premier League goal difference after eight games, scoring 29 times and conceding just four to climb two points clear of Manchester United.

Guardiola's men have dropped points just once in the top flight this season and boast a perfect Champions League record, most recently seeing off the best Italy has to offer in Napoli, but the Catalan coach is adamant that there is still room for improvement.

"I said many times over the last weeks, we played good in the last games but always we can improve," he told reporters. "That is the reason why we are here - if we believe that it's done it makes no sense to keep going, to stay. Always we can do better. Hopefully we can maintain that level in the next games."

City take on Burnley on Saturday afternoon in their next fixture, before welcoming Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Etihad Stadium in the EFL Cup three days later.

https://amp.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-city/news/pep-guardiola-city-can-still-improve_310012.html

Dyche on City

Deserved praise from the Burnley manager.

“I think we all know, arguably they’re one of the best collection of individual footballers in Europe. The team looks more familiar with each other and that comes with time. The manager, rightly so, has been stood by and allowed to work.”

Guardiola on Mendy's involvement

Usually in a long injury, players are sad. They train apart so they feel isolated. But Mendy decided to be present through social media. He calls his teammates, he Whatsapps, he is even in contact with me. He is important on the pitch and is going to be really important off it because he makes the dressing room atmosphere much better.

OTAMENDI AND STONES MAKING LIGHT OF KOMPANY ABSENCE FOR GUARDIOLA

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Pep Guardiola has hailed the blossoming centre-back partnership between Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones at Manchester City, with Vincent Kompany's latest injury ordeal showing no sign of an upturn.

Guardiola told a news conference ahead of Saturday's game against Burnley that club captain Kompany would miss out once more with a calf problem and he had no idea when the Belgium defender would return.

Over recent seasons, Kompany's absences have tended to prompt varying degrees of collapse in form by City's backline.

But Otamendi and Stones have formed an increasingly assured alliance over the course of five Premier League victories and three out of three in the Champions League since Kompany last featured at Bournemouth in August.

"A lot, a lot – I'm really impressed," Guardiola said when reviewing the duo's form, reserving particular praise for Otamendi – a robust, no-frills defender who would not necessarily be expected to flourish under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss.

"Always we talk about the guys who play offensively but John and Nico, both of them were fantastic in the last month because they played all the games.

"Nico played against Stoke City when I had a lot of doubts because he came from [international duty with] Argentina, from 10 days with a lot of pressure in his mind to qualify for the World Cup.

"He is one of the players I have met in my life with the strongest mentality and he is a guy who only wants to learn in terms of the ball possession.

"Always he was strong in the air and winning duels. Also, he has the courage to play. Even when he makes mistakes, it doesn’t matter. If he loses the ball, he wants you to give it to him again and play.

"He's not afraid at all, it doesn't matter where he plays, has a lot of experience. He is an important guy for us. All the season, he has played outstanding."

It is a far cry from the error strewn displays ex-Valencia man Otamendi and Stones – a £47million signing from Everton – turned in last season.

Then, Stones often found a champion in his manager when his willingness to build attacks from the back played himself and City into trouble.

As the Premier League leaders continue to click through the gears at the other end of the pitch, with 39 goals in all competitions, the fact that the 23-year-old is no longer a regular discussion topic speaks volumes for Guardiola.

"John, last year, every game it was always one or two mistakes with the ball and [he was] always distracted," Guardiola said, his defence having only been breached four times in the league.

"This season he is always focusing with the ball. I know his quality but he is improving."

The character shown by his centre-backs is something Guardiola knows his side will need in order to maintain the early purpose of their bid for glory.

In 2016-17, City won their first 10 matches at home and abroad before hitting trouble in October. By the turn of the year, they had faded from the title picture.

Guardiola was heartened by his players' response under pressure as they ground out a 2-1 win over Napoli in midweek but expects the biggest test of a team ever more in tune with his methods will come whenever their blistering early run is derailed.

"That is going to happen," he insisted. "We cannot expect, now we are in October, to finish the season how we started and in the last month when we won all the games.

"That is impossible in football at the high level. But I want to see that, I want to see how we are going to react in that moment when we drop points, how strong we are.

"The big teams always show in the bad moments. When we are winning by three or four it is important but it doesn’t count too much. In the bad moments, it counts how we react."

http://us.soccerway.com/news/2017/October/20/otamendi-and-stones-making-light-of-kompany-absence-for-guardiola/n1036155/

DE BRUYNE: MAN CITY, UNITED FIGHTING FOR TITLE

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Kevin De Bruyne and City have made a scintillating start to the campaign, winning seven and drawing one of their opening eight games to be two De Bruyne said it appeared the title battle was between City and United – for now.

"For the moment I think so, but everybody's still there," the Belgium international told ESPN FC.

"It's so early, if you lose two or three games you go back to a [lower] position. We have to maintain this hopefully."

Pep Guardiola's side have been lauded for their style this season and have netted 29 league goals and conceded just four.

De Bruyne believes City are producing the types of performances their Spaniard boss wants.

"I think we're pretty much what he wants," he said.

"Obviously one game is going [to be] better than the other ones and one time we will look more like his team than another, but I think the way we play is always the same.

"We play dominant football and like to put a lot of pressure on them and if you can do that, it works well. It's hard to go full pace all the time but at the moment everyone is in great shape."

MANCHESTER CITY PLAYING LIKE BRAZIL

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The Brazil international is thriving in the attacking system favoured by Guardiola and says the players are enjoying themselves in the way his compatriots tend to, particularly in last week's 7-2 destruction of Stoke City.

"Yes, it was almost like [Brazilian football]," Jesus told Sky Sports. "In Brazil when we win with so many goals the players tend to start playing with more style and being playful.

"They start jumping around and it did feel more or less like this. It felt like a very beautiful way of winning that game. As players we enjoyed it a lot and that's how we felt inside the pitch."

"Obviously I am enjoying playing here a lot," he said. "I am a very calm and tranquil person but I do miss some things the city hasn't got compared to where I used to live in Brazil.

"But I am very happy and getting to know the city better and better.

"Pep Guardiola is a very ambitious manager, that's a reason why he has been able to win all the trophies he has won in his career.

"I am very happy to get the chance to be trained by him and I am very proud to be able to grow under his management. I hope we will carry on together and we will be able to improve even more."

"I really like working with Aguero," he said. "He is a fantastic guy and we all know how he is as a player. I support him a lot."

Pep's dream to play 3-5-2 has been destroyed after 4 games. I know we played 3-5-2 against Liverpool with Danilo as RCB but it was one off for me. Pep will only use 3-5-2 regularly if Vinny is fit which is highly unlikely.

Aguero doing the job from the spot

Delph & Bernardo Silva seem off the pace especially the latter. He has scuffed 2 chances and seems either slow to react with the ball or too blasé. He needs to wake up.

GUARDIOLA READY TO DINE OUT ON AGUERO RECORD

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Pep Guardiola hopes dinner will be on Sergio Aguero when he becomes the leading scorer in Manchester City history.

Aguero moved level with Eric Brook on 177 goals at the top of City's all-time list by breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot during Saturday's 3-0 win over Burnley.

"When you have three weeks out you take a little bit [of time to get] the rhythm. He needed to play minutes and he did it today," Guardiola told a post-match news conference when assessing Aguero's display.

"It was important for him to equalise the record and as soon as possible he is going to break it. When he breaks it, it will be something special.

"It's so important for him to be the top scorer in all the history with the club. We are happy to be in this moment with him."

Speaking to BBC Sport, Guardiola added: "He should pay a tribute to us! He should invite us to dinner maybe. One more goal... it's going to happen sooner or later."

Guardiola, on the other hand, saw little controversy in the game's key moment.

"It's a penalty, I saw it. It's a penalty," he said. "The goalkeeper touched the right foot of Bernardo."

Draw in the United-Spurs game, City beat West Brom and that's the perfect weekend. Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool dropping points is just a bonus.

At the end of the day the result will keep City in check to easily dispatch West Brom. I feared a draw could make City complacent. Something about that game makes me feel Chelsea is still the 2nd placed team but I guess we would know next week.

Blood of fernandinho!!!

Scoreline does not reflect the dominance. Westbrom were very physical.

Otamendi, youuuuu imp!

Great 3 points.