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Spanish mentor Manchester City spoke about subtle tactical decisions and summed up the match against French Marseille.
On matchday two of the UEFA Champions League, English Manchester City traveled to France, where they achieved a landslide victory over local Marseille (3: 0) at the Velodrome stadium. Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko participated in the fight from the first minutes.
The coach of the “citizens” Josep Guardiola could not count on several key players from his team in the first leg. The most serious casualties were in the position of the center forward, where Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesús were absent due to injuries. The solution to this problem on the part of the coaching staff of the “mooncats” was quite unexpected: the 20-year-old Spanish nominal flank midfielder, Ferran Torres, played in the center of the attack.
In an interview with the official website of the club, Guardiola praised the degree of adaptation of his player to the conditions of the new club and, in particular, in the game against the five Marseille defenders: “He adapted very well. Ferrand is not a forward. I can congratulate him for trying to play in this position. ” He scored a goal. It’s not easy for a striker against five defenders. “The Spanish specialist also complained about the poor bench:” We don’t have many options until Sergio (Aguero – ed.) And Gabriel (Jesús – ed.) Return, so we had an alternative – Ferrana as forward “.
Regarding the game of the team as a whole, the Spaniard pointed out that Marseille surpassed their positions in the initial segment, but Manchester City managed to contain this onslaught with a safe play in defense. “For 15-20 minutes they were better. We defended well in the area. I give credit to our team. We didn’t let them play.”
In this context, the actions of the Diaz – Laporte central pair and the formative Kyle Walker were evaluated separately: “We were incredibly stable. Rubén and Laporte were good. Walker is in his best form since he arrived in Manchester.”
Guardiola also admitted that he was surprised by the decision of Portuguese specialist Andre-Vilas Boas to play with the three center-backs from the first minutes. “We weren’t expecting this because we didn’t see it in their games this season. When we saw three center-backs, we suggested that our players change the plans for the fight if the opponents play like this. You can play with five defenders and be aggressive. And if they weren’t so aggressive in attack, it was because we played well pressing. In our game we found directions in which to attack. “
After two initial victories, Manchester City proudly lead the rest of the Quartet C teams with six points. “It is important to start the Champions League with two wins because we are already close to making the playoffs. But still, this is just the beginning. We are still getting in shape.”
Manchester City’s next game is an away match with Sheffield United, which is highly feared by the ‘Citizens’ head coach: “This is one of the toughest away games in the Premier League. Sheffield It was very good last season. We enjoyed today, tomorrow we are in Holidays, and then we prepare for the rivals as best as possible “- summed up the Spaniard.
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