Manchester City Thread

[malmomike77]

The sun is shining, the Christmas markets are buzzing.

Get in early, they'll be full of German towels soon now the markets over there are cancelled.

[Joe 90]

"It's A Cloning System!" - Manchester United Legend Makes Stunning Admission About Man City Academy During Everton Win
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville paid the ultimate compliment to Manchester City's academy system in their 3-0 victory over Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Sky Blues were at their dominant best, as they reduced the gap between themselves and the top of the Premier League table to three points with a convincing win against the Toffees.
With Jack Grealish out injured and Kevin De Bruyne sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, Pep Guardiola handed academy star Cole Palmer his first start in the top-flight against Rafael Benitez's side.

The 19-year-old was positioned down the middle by Pep Guardiola, as he partnered Raheem Sterling and fellow Manchester City academy graduate Phil Foden in an all-English frontline.

Pep Guardiola even gave the impressive youth academy attacking midfielder James McAtee his Premier League debut late on, as the Salford-born teenager replaced Palmer with less than five minutes left on the clock.
Despite having just come on, McAtee went on an incredible run on the edge of the penalty area on the stroke of full-time, causing havoc among the Everton backline all on his own.

This led former Manchester United captain Gary Neville to pay his ex-club's local rivals the ultimate compliment for how the club's academy system has worked in favour of their first-team in the past few seasons.

In commentary for Sky Sports, Neville said, "It (Manchester City's academy) is not an academy, it’s a cloning system. They’re like clones, they’re all the same. It’s almost like David Silva’s left them all behind."
The David Silva parallel is testament to how well-drilled Manchester City's young guns are, with much credit going to training with the first-team and learning from the senior squad under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola and his staff.

While Phil Foden has been a first-team regular for more than a year, Palmer slotted in right from the off despite being asked to fill in up top by PGuardiola, while McAtee saw himself compared to David Silva after featuring for less than 5 minutes of normal time on Sunday.

I take it all back Gary you are not a total gobshite

[Joe 90]

Manchester City will check on record signing Jack Grealish before Wednesday's Champions League match against Paris St-Germain.

The midfielder missed Sunday's Premier League victory over Everton with a knock sustained on England duty, but is hoping to return in time to face PSG.

Kevin de Bruyne (coronavirus) is unavailable and winger Ferran Torres (foot) may be out until the new year.

Meanwhile, four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos might make his first appearance for PSG.

Ramos, 35, has not played for his new club since leaving Real Madrid in the summer.

He has been recovering from a calf injury but is in the squad that travelled to Manchester.

[Joe 90]

Big game tonight!

Tickets are as rare as rocking horse shite.

My starting 11..

[Joe 90]

City dominated the first half, so far so good against the most dangerous trio in world football.
Messi, Mbappe and Neymar.
City should be two nil up.
I don't think Sterling has many fans...

[Joe 90]

I take it back Sterling

[Joe 90]

Oh Man City! Qualified top of their group! HAIL Pep the tactical genius

[Joe 90]

The difference between City and PSG is a team of stars that play together!

Without De Bruyne and Foden!

[Reg Dingle]

^ Shut up you plonker. Even the Bellend outwitted PSG

[Joe 90]

^ Shut up you plonker. Even the Bellend outwitted PSG

This City is ours, this city is ours, now fvck off back to London this city is ours

[Joe 90]

Blizzard conditions today, them in the third tier couldn't see the game..

Gundogan's goal was the German's third in the Premier League this seasonManchester City midfield pair Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandino were on target as Pep Guardiola's Premier League superiority over West Ham continued.
City have now won 10 of 11 top-flight meetings with the Hammers under the Spaniard.

In a game played in a snow-storm before half-time, skipper Gundogan provided the decisive moment after 33 minutes when he turned home a deflected Riyad Mahrez effort at the far-post.
It was the Germany midfielder's third goal of the season - and his second in four league games - and was followed up in the final minute by Fernandinho, who had only been introduced three minutes earlier to tie the game up.
The veteran Brazilian had not scored a Premier League goal since October 2018 but found the target from the edge of the box.
Manuel Lanzini pulled one back with the final kick of the game, which cost Ederson his 100th clean sheet in all competitions but did nothing to prevent City moving back into second spot, six points clear of the Hammers.
The Londoners remain fourth despite suffering successive Premier League defeats for the first time since April.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola, said: "The amount of chances we created, especially in the first half, in the conditions that both teams played in - it was a huge victory for us, for the effort of the players and the performance.
"We didn't concede much. We defended the set-pieces really well and counter-attacks we controlled.
"We could maybe make another speed, another rhythm but weather conditions didn't allow us to do it and it was a good performance from us."
Weather main threat to City win

The second half was delayed by almost 10 minutes so snow could be cleared from the pitchGuardiola offered special thanks to head groundsman Lee Jackson and his team for this latest victory.
As half-time approached with heavy snow falling on a pitch already covered in it, there was a real fear the game might not reach its conclusion.
Yet Jackson and his colleagues got to work and with the aid of a half-time interval extended by referee Michael Oliver by five minutes, and the surface was clear again when the game restarted, by which time the snow had stopped.
Guardiola said: "I think the groundkeepers, the men who took care of the pitch, were the men of the match. They did an incredible job so we could play the game today."
Jackson's reward was an effective home display, even if it was some way short of show-stopper.
West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski denied Gundogan a second and Bernardo Silva's excellent chipped finish counted for nothing thanks to an offside flag.
And Ederson, whose only significant save was turning away a fierce Declan Rice shot, was denied his personal milestone with a goal out of virtually nothing from Lanzini, when West Ham had no time to even think about an equaliser.


'Magnificent' Man City players have not let their levels drop - GuardiolaBelow-par Hammers

Despite losing 22 out of 25 previous away games against the defending champions, West Ham can rarely have gone into such a fixture in more optimistic mood.
Yet they never really got going.
Fabianski was booed by the City fans inside the opening 10 minutes for apparent time-wasting and the experienced Poland goalkeeper was soon earning the wrath of David Moyes for a fluffed clearance that would have resulted in a goal had Mahrez not been offside when Raheem Sterling's block landed at his feet.
Arthur Masuaku's selection ahead of Jarrod Bowen was supposed to provide more protection down the West Ham left flank but City's array of attacking talent just found spaces elsewhere.
Ben Johnson's goalline clearance to deny Mahrez, who also hit the outside of the post, before half-time was followed up by Ryan Cresswell bravely sliding in to turn Gabriel Jesus' goal-bound effort away for a corner. It was effectively Cresswell's final contribution as he continued into the post with such force he needed to be replaced by Vladimir Coufal after hurting his back.
It made no fundamental difference to the flow of the game and West Ham will be thankful for the failings of others that their position in the table remains as it was.


West Ham always in the game against Man City - MoyesWhat's next?

Manchester City's next Premier League game is at Aston Villa on Wednesday, 1 December (20:15 GMT). West Ham entertain Brighton at London Stadium on the same day (19:30 GMT).

[Joe 90]

[Joe 90]

Manchester City are in an "emergency" with just "14 or 15" senior players for Wednesday's Premier League trip to Aston Villa, says boss Pep Guardiola.

Barcelona target Ferran Torres misses out with a foot problem, while defender Aymeric Laporte is suspended.

Kevin de Bruyne is yet to resume training despite testing negative after a bout of Covid-19 and will not play.

Phil Foden and Jack Grealish - who joined City from Villa for £100m in the summer - are doubts.

Even if they are passed fit, Guardiola says the pair "cannot play a lot of minutes".

Coming into the busiest time of the season, when nine Premier League games are crammed into six weeks, Guardiola is concerned.

"We are in an emergency in the squad because we have few, few, few people," he said

"We never complain when it is not possible for players to play because of injuries or red cards because I trust the squad a lot and other players can come in.

"But we are in real trouble for December - the toughest month of the year. We have just 14 or 15, players. And a lot of players have played a lot of minutes."

With John Stones fit, Guardiola does have 15 senior players available for the Villa match, even without Foden and Grealish.

In addition, youngsters Cole Palmer and James Mcatee are expected to be involved.

The length of De Bruyne's absence is still not certain, with Guardiola saying the Belgian needs to do some work on the training ground before he can be considered.

"Kevin is back but he needs time to be fit," he said. "All the people who had Covid explain that they are drained and tired and need time and Kevin is a player who needs to be fit otherwise he cannot show his top quality."

[harrybarracuda]

Blizzard conditions today, them in the third tier couldn't see the game..

Doesn't really matter as they don't understand it anyway.

[hallelujah]

Are the City fans all at the Christmas markets in town?

Just take a look at all those empty seats again!

https://twitter.com/FroggattSimon/st...46951700385795

[Reg Dingle]

Are the City fans all at the Christmas markets in town?

If a bomb went off in there, it'd probably only take out 10 glory hunters.

[hallelujah]

Well, they're certainly following Covid social-distancing advice.

[Reg Dingle]

[Joe 90]

Where's my pic of that new statue of the City legend?

Fook it let's have a goal...

[Joe 90]

Well, they're certainly following Covid social-distancing advice.

Cockwomble

[harrybarracuda]

Are the City fans all at the Christmas markets in town?

Just take a look at all those empty seats again!

https://twitter.com/FroggattSimon/st...46951700385795

Maybe The Sound of Music or Live And Let Die was on the telly again, did you check the listings?

[Joe 90]

Well, they're certainly following Covid social-distancing advice.

Seven nil to the empty seats!

Seven nil to the empty seats!

Seven nil to the empty seats!

[Joe 90]

[Joe 90]

Sergio Aguero says he is "proud" of his career after accepting the "very difficult" reality of retiring from the sport to protect his health.

The 33-year-old sobbed while announcing the news on Wednesday, fewer than six months after joining Barcelona.

The former Manchester City striker was taken to hospital on 30 October after experiencing "chest discomfort" during a 1-1 draw with Alaves.

"The decision I have made, I have taken it for my health," said Aguero.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was among a small crowd watching Aguero make the announcement next to the Nou Camp pitch.

Aguero, who ends his career with 427 goals in 786 games, took time to compose himself after crying at the start of the event and added: "This conference is to communicate that I have decided to stop playing football. It's a very difficult moment.

"When they did the first physical test on me in the clinic, the medical staff called me to tell me there was a very big possibility that I wouldn't be able to keep playing. From that point I was processing it all but it wasn't easy. One of the doctors told me straight up, 'that's enough'.

"I want to tell everyone that I did everything possible. I dreamt about playing football since I was five years old and I first touched a ball. I never thought I would get to Europe, so I want to show my gratitude to everyone regardless of where I trained.

"I'm proud of the career I've had and am fortunate it is happening to me now rather than before. I don't know what awaits me in the next life but I know there are a lot of people who love me and want the best for me."

[Joe 90]