Champions again again again again

Player Ratings

Stefan Ortega – 7
Made a good save, was beaten by the pace when conceding the goal.

Kyle Walker – 7
Responsible for crucial blocks and intercepted counter-attacks early in the first half

Ruben Dias – 7
Played his defensive duties and occasionally helped drive the attacks forward

anuel Akanji – 6
Worked well alongside Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker, could have done better to help maintain possession

Josko Gvardiol – 8
Impressive in defense, brilliant in attack. Controlled and drove spells of attack as needed.

Rodri – 8
It wasn’t the Spaniard’s best game in the first half, but his goal helped ease Manchester City’s nerves in the second half.

Kevin De Bruyne – 7
Massively involved in most City attacks, produced wonderful crosses that could have easily added to the home side’s goal tally

Phil Foden – 9 (Man of the Match)
Ran the show from the midfield and scored two stunners. Aggressive with the ball and tactful with his attacks, he was City’s finest on the pitch.

Bernardo Silva – 7
Workhorse as always, played a key role in setting up gaols for Foden and Rodri apiece

Jeremy Doku – 8
Had a confident start to his game, took on more runs, and troubled the defense on the left flank

Erling Haaland – 6
Missed two big chances in the first half, and a handful in the second. Arguably unlucky in front of the goal but definitely far from his best.

Substitutes
Nathan Ake – 7
Kept City composed at the back after coming on and made a good block

Mateo Kovacic – N/A

Player Ratings

Ortega: Made a good save from Kudus in the first half and could do nothing about the goal smacked past him. A spectator for large parts. 7

Walker: Did well to read the game and win possession back high up the pitch to get the ball rolling for the first goal, and solid defensively. 7

Dias: Kept things together at the back and also threatened in the opposition box, going close with a header and doing superbly to set Haaland up for a great chance. 8

Akanji: Another excellent performance, and one with fewer nerves than Tuesday. Comfortable pushing up alongside Rodri. 7

Gvardiol: Did brilliantly to turn a problem into a City attack for the second goal and continued his excellent form. 8

Rodri: Exactly what you would expect from the best player in the league, with another crucial goal to settle nerves. 8

Silva: It will only be once he's gone that most will realise how much he brings to the team. Integral once more to the performance. 8

De Bruyne: Happy to let Foden take centre stage in the middle but still fizzed with energy on and off the ball, pressing high to keep City levels up. 7

Doku: Perhaps the most surprising name on the teamsheet but thoroughly merited his place, terrorising Coufal for the second time this season and holding his own against the mighty Kudus. 8

Foden: Two goals, both brilliantly taken, to put City in complete control of an important game. Fitting that he pulled City through. 9

Haaland: Some decent team play and he desperately worked for a goal, but he also missed several presentable chances. 6

Substitutes
Ake (for Akanji, 71): Has been one of City's best players this season and deserved his appearance off the bench. Could he force his way in for the cup final? 7

Kovacic (for Foden, 88): No time.

Player Ratings

GK: Stefan Ortega - 6/10 - Made a smart save from Kudus but could do nothing about the overhead kick that flew past him.

RB: Kyle Walker - 7/10 - Charged up and down the pitch with the usual verve and purpose we've come to expect from Walker.

CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - Cool, calm and collected in a defensively sound City performance.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 7/10 - Manchester City's big-money buys often steal the headlines but few are as consistent as a player who cost just £15m.

LB: Josko Gvardiol - 7/10 - Failed to have the same impact as he has done in recent weeks, but still contributed plenty to City's wave of attacks.

DM: Rodri - 8/10 - Put the gloss on another polished performance with a perfectly controlled long-range shot.

AM: Kevin De Bruyne - 7/10 - For once not the star of the show for City, instead handing over the baton to his junior midfield partner.

AM: Phil Foden - 9/10 - Quickly put City at ease with a sensational goal just two minutes in. Doubled the lead soon after and was the standout player on show.

RW: Bernardo Silva - 8/10 - Two more assists for Bernardo, who continues to deliver for City in the big games.

ST: Erling Haaland - 6/10 - Kept pretty quiet by a compact, narrow West Ham defence.

LW: Jeremy Doku - 8/10 - A menacing threat throughout the afternoon, running at Vladimir Coufal and the rest of West Ham's backline.

Substitutes
SUB: Nathan Ake (71' for Akanji) - 6/10

SUB: Mateo Kovacic (90' for Foden) - N/A

Player Ratings

Stefan Ortega (6/10):
Rarely saw the ball, with his fingers or feet, save for picking out Kudus' screamer. But it always felt like the goal was in safe hands.

Kyle Walker (6/10):
Led by example in defence, making an early block to halt a rare visitors' attack and kicking on from then.

Manuel Akanji (5/10):
A bit too casual in possession and was the first to be taken off.

Ruben Dias (6/10):
Kept Antonio quiet and helped the attack out by stepping in.

Josko Gvardiol (7/10):
No goals this time but he was excellent at bringing the ball into midfield, keeping the play flowing and out-muscling his opponents.

Kevin De Bruyne (7/10):
A typical all-action performance, involved in all City's best attacking moves.

Rodri (8/10):
Controlled the game in his usual way and was always looking for a goal. It was fitting that his effectively wrapped up the title.

Bernardo Silva (7/10):
Worked his socks off and was at the heart of the creative play, setting up two goals.

Phil Foden (9/10):
It wasn't just the goals, but they sure help. He should be patenting his top-corner strikes from outside the box such as his first goal.

Erling Haaland (4/10):
The reverse of his usual displays. Surprisingly good at the build-up play, having a hand in the first two goals. But he was dreadful at shooting, wasting two great chances in the first half.

Jeremy Doku (8/10):
Always a thorn in West Ham's right side. Ran Coufal ragged throughout and set up the second goal.

Subs
Nathan Ake (6/10):
Gave City more power after replacing Akanji.

Mateo Kovacic (N/A):
Brought on in added-time to join the celebrations.

Manager
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
Looked angry for much of the game, underlining how demanding he is of his players. And that intensity has taken him into the history books of English football.

This post has been edited by kjs86: May 20 2024, 09:38 AM

This post has been edited by kjs86: May 20 2024, 09:39 AM

Player ratings for Manchester City’s 2023-24

Ederson
The 6ft 2in goalkeeper was Rodri-like in his laser-directed passing and if he coughed up a single goal-costing error it vanished from this observer’s mind. His season ended with the eye-socket injury sustained in last Tuesday’s vital 2-0 win at Tottenham so missed Sunday’s 3-1 championship-clinching victory over West Ham. 9

Stefan Ortega
Receives his score, despite only five starts and four substitute appearances, for how brilliant he was, particularly having to come on those four times to replace Ederson, a quaint statistic given how rarely any No 1 has an in-game injury. The German may depart in the summer but he will always have his Son Heung-min 86th-minute moment: saving vitally as the Tottenham forward raced in, to retain City’s lead. 8

Kyle Walker
After personal issues almost caused the defender to move to Bayern Munich last summer, the 33-year-old remained, was voted the successor to Ilkay Gündogan as captain and made 30 starts, eight more than last season. As his manager memorably said, Walker “remains the fastest man in the room” and is technically accomplished too. 9

Rico Lewis
Eight starts is two down on the youngster’s breakthrough season of last term, puzzling perhaps after Pep Guardiola eulogised about Lewis’s impact on the three-peat team. His two goals, though, were two more than in 2022-23, coming in the home and away games against Crystal Palace. Always a smooth operative. 7

John Stones
A season certainly not in the wilderness but in the treatment room and on the bench for the Barnsley Beckenbauer, who started 12 times, entering on four occasions as a substitute. As with the absences of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, one more indicator that injuries did not derail the title defence. 7

Manuel Akanji
The Swiss defender who often, in accomplished fashion, wanders upfield to make an extra midfielder does have a mistake in him, as at Spurs when his fluffed control allowed Son to run in. The South Korean missed – or Ortega saved, take your pick – and Akanji and City breathed again. 8

Rúben Dias
The “second captain” of the backline made five more starts (28) than in the treble campaign and at 27 is a Rolls-Royce of a defender whose cute positional play and love of defending are his finest gears. The high backline Guardiola demands can expose a lack of pace, though. 8

Nathan Aké
Seamlessly switching between left centre-back and left-back makes the Dutchman a priceless option and he was flawless. Two goals were one more than last season, though these were in 5-1 (Fulham) and 6-1 (Bournemouth) wins so hardly big-game strikes. 8

Josko Gvardiol
City’s defender of the season, whose technical ability and sharpshooting prowess may elevate him even more when, next term, he has a year under Guardiola to draw upon. Scored five goals in eight matches before the West Ham victory after zero in his previous 32. 9

Sergio Gómez
Zero starts and six substitute appearances for a total 47 minutes is a disappointment for the Spaniard whom Guardiola, evidently, does not overly trust. 5

Rodri
Simply the best holding midfielder in the league, the Spaniard improves his mark by 0.5 from 12 months ago to make the perfect 10 after doing what this writer suggested he should: score more, his eight goals being six more than last season. The last came when it truly mattered: City’s third to soothe nerves against West Ham. 10

Mateo Kovacic
Can understudy Rodri as the holder or operate in the midfield berth ahead of that and has, unlike Kalvin Phillips, the manager’s belief for a game less slick than Rodri’s. At £25m from Chelsea last summer, he is one more illustration of how shrewd the Guardiola-Txiki Begiristain axis is in the market. 8

Matheus Nunes
Seven starts and 10 entries from the bench illuminate how he is being schooled by Guardiola. If the Portuguese can be a strawweight presence, he has the touch and cleverness to become a force in 2024-25. 6

Kevin De Bruyne
From 23 minutes into the opening Friday at Burnley until the 69th minute of 13 January at Newcastle, the sublime Belgian was ruled out with a serious hamstring problem, but he still ended with 10 assists. Five minutes after entering at St James’ Park, De Bruyne scored. In the 91st minute, one of his geometry-redefining assists put Oscar Bobb in for the winner in a precious 3-2 victory. 9

Bernardo Silva
Twenty-nine starts and six goals to 24 and four last term, from the man who, Guardiola says, makes him feel safe when on the pitch. The 29-year-old is a summer perennial of a will-he-stay-or-will-he-go debate, Barcelona usually his suitor. Maybe this year he departs, though City will hope to persuade him again to remain. 9

Jack Grealish
This has to go down as a season of stasis for the effervescent winger, though his 20 appearances and three goals (a drop of eight and two from last term) can be traced to injuries including a dead leg and a groin problem. The rosier news is that Guardiola rates him as a big-game player who can execute his plan and turn it on when fully fit and flying. 7

Phil Foden
His two goals in the win on Sunday that sealed the four-peat summed up the season of the 23-year-old’s life. Two minutes in came a sliced forehand of a left-foot shot that kissed the side-netting and was followed by a second steered home on 18 minutes. Both goals carried the element the lad from Stockport graced City with all term: poise. 10

Oscar Bobb
The Norwegian will never forget his winner at Newcastle as he swooped on De Bruyne’s flicked through-pass, soft-shoe-shuffled the ball between feet, and struck. After 14 appearances for 291 minutes, Bobb appears to have the pace, trickery and spatial awareness Guardiola demands from a forward to become a squad fixture, at least. 7

Julián Álvarez
Only Ederson, Foden, De Bruyne and Rodri made more than his 31 starts, as the versatile Argentinian filled in for De Bruyne at No 10 and Erling Haaland at No 9 when each went down for prolonged periods. Eleven league goals is not prolific yet Guardiola praised him after the championship was sealed. “We were without Haaland for many months – Julián did an amazing job,” he said. 9

Erling Haaland
Another maximum-rated season for the cut-throat dude before goal. Why: because despite missing five games (10 December-31 January) Haaland ended as the Golden Boot winner with 27 goals in 29 starts, another phenomenal return after the 36 of his debut season. He also plays with an infectious grin that lights up matchdays. 10

Jérémy Doku
The £55.5m spent to buy the winger from Rennes last August is one more in the array of bargains landed by City, and his selection to face West Ham on Sunday illustrated the force he is as Doku’s speed and ball control constantly tore through the visitors. 9

Kompany set to become Bayern Munich manager

FA cup

Pep Guardiola has just one certain absentee for this Saturday's final. Ederson will miss the game after fracturing his eye socket in a freak collision with Tottenham Hotspur's Cristian Romero last week.

The Brazilian had wanted to continue but was forced off by his manager. Stefan Ortega is likely to take his place in the starting line-up.

Jack Grealish has not played since illness kept him out of the clash with Fulham. He has been an unused substitute since then so it remains to be seen whether or not he will feature at Wembley.

This post has been edited by kjs86: May 23 2024, 07:23 PM

115

Key members of Manchester City’s hierarchy have issued head coach Pep Guardiola with an update on the fate of the club’s 115 charges from the Premier League.

As the Catalan coach enters into his ninth season in charge of Manchester City, in a truly revolutionary period for the football club, key officials have issued the 53-year-old with a further update on their fate surrounding the Premier League’s 115 charges.

According to the information of The Times’ Paul Hirst, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, managing director Ferran Soriano, and sporting director Txiki Begiristain have all assured Pep Guardiola that the club will be cleared of their Premier League charges.

Such charges made against the club – confirmed and announced by the Premier League in February 2023 – are set to be heard later this year, with various reports in other quarters claiming a date of October 2024.

In late April, Manchester City board member Alberto Galassi also offered his take on the situation, as he told one newspaper, “I am not entitled to discuss this, but perhaps you can tell from my body language I am super confident (about the outcome).”

Manchester City are expected to operate as normal in the upcoming summer transfer window too, despite some being concerned about their fate with regards to the Premier League’s charges, with a number of recruits anticipated.

This post has been edited by kjs86: May 23 2024, 07:23 PM

transfer

Goalkeepers

Stefan Ortega could stay and that Ederson could leave

In reality, it still feels more likely that Ederson stays given Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he remains No.1. And if that is the case, Ortega may well end up considering his options; the number of games he has managed this year is in part down to the freakish number of injuries that Ederson has suffered, which surely won't happen again.

This post has been edited by kjs86: May 23 2024, 07:20 PM

Defenders


One big exit to watch for would be Kyle Walker, who almost signed for Bayern Munich last summer and has interest in him this year including from Saudi clubs. The 33-year-old has lived the dream as City captain this season, but has spoken before of factoring in his personal life into football decisions and he may choose to go out at the Etihad on a high.

Former City youngster Jeremie Frimpong has just won the league with that incredible unbeaten season at Leverkusen and has been mentioned to potentially return to the Blues, although that move is not thought to be being actively considered. Rico Lewis will be aiming to kick on next season, even if he has said he sees himself moving into midfield rather than playing full-back.

City will get £20m in summer if Southampton are promoted given a clause in Taylor Harwood-Bellis' loan deal, and even if that doesn't pay off they can expect a good fee given that is now two excellent years in the Championship; a Premier League club could come calling. The same can be said for Callum Doyle, who impressed at Leicester despite a serious injury and will not be short of suitors for either another loan or a permanent deal.

The Joao Cancelo issue remains too, with no way back for him at the Etihad but a contract until 2027 and an ability that should warrant a decent price. Barcelona, where he has been this season, are unlikely to be able to find a value that City are happy with given their money problems so the Blues will be left hoping that agent Jorge Mendes can work some magic if they are not to end up with a cut-price sale or another loan.