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Pep Guardiola says goalkeeper Ederson is a genuine option to become Manchester City’s penalty taker in a bid to end his disappointing record from point of view.
Ilkay Gundogan took a penalty over the bar when scores were tied during City’s 4-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday, becoming the third player to miss from 12 yards for the team this season.
City also missed six of their 16 penalties last season, prompting Guardiola to joke that Ederson, who has never taken a penalty in his professional career, could be held liable.
After the victory at Anfield last week, Guardiola said the prospect of the goalkeeper becoming the penalty taker now is only a “half joke”, and it looks like it could become reality.
“He has to save them too, then let’s see what happens,” Guardiola said. “It depends on the players. Sergio [Aguero]it doesn’t fit kevin [De Bruyne]He is an incredibly good receiver, but sadly not fit yet.
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FREE TO SEE: Highlights from Manchester City’s victory at Liverpool in the Premier League
“We’ll see it tomorrow [away to Swansea] – depends on the alignment. But it’s an option because I’m pretty sure he’s a good receiver. A penalty taker has to be the personality with great confidence in himself. “
Whether Ederson starts at Liberty Stadium in Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash is open for debate given that his No.2 Zach Steffen has played in every City home cup game this season, but Guardiola does not expect an easy game.
He still remembers how City were nearly beaten in the 2018/19 FA Cup quarter-finals by Swansea, who held a 2-0 lead before a late rally by Guardiola’s team saw them win 3-2.
Guardiola is also impressed by the work of his counterpart Steve Cooper, who has led the Welsh club to third place in the Championship, saying: “Swansea has a tradition of good coaches.
“Michael Laudrup was there, Roberto Martínez, Sr. [Graham] Potter, manager of Brighton, now I realize how good it is. When we faced him we suffered a lot, we were 2-0 down, our third goal was offside. So it was a difficult, difficult game.
“I don’t expect a different game than we played two seasons ago, when we suffered incredibly. I know Swansea’s consistency, they are so solid, physical, quality to play up front. [Andre] Oh. A real test “.
Pep: I only get praise from Foden because we won
Guardiola also shrugged off the praise for his delivery of Phil Foden following the 20-year-old’s outstanding performance in the victory at Liverpool, saying he was only coming their way because they won the game.
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Pep Guardiola says he only gets praise for his handling of Phil Foden when Manchester City win
Foden has long been regarded as one of the brightest talents of his generation, but has only established himself as a regular at Guardiola’s XI this season, despite making his City debut in November 2017.
During the midfielder’s time on the sidelines it was suggested that he might be better off moving on loan to another club in search of regular football, but his progress this season has silenced those calls.
When asked if he ever got tired of being questioned about the treatment he gave Foden, Guardiola replied: “No, it’s part of our job. Sometimes when he wasn’t playing, he could have played, then when he did play, maybe he could rest. .
“The decisions we make are always good because we win, not because they are good themselves. We never even know what will happen.
“So all the good comments after the victory against Liverpool – I’ll tell you a secret – is because we won. Let’s do the same and lose, it would have been a disaster. It happened many times.
“All successful managers are good and the manager who doesn’t win is a loser.”
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