'Our confidence is good' ahead of big Club Brugge gamepublished at 13:56 28 January
13:56 28 January
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Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol says their "confidence is good" after beating Chelsea on Saturday but they need to stick together if they are to progress in the Champions League.
If City win at home to Club Brugge on Wednesday, then Pep Guardiola's side will scrape into the play-offs. If they draw or lose to Club Brugge, City will be out and their European campaign will be all over before the end of January.
"We all need to stick together, to try and get out of this together," said Gvardiol. "We are in a good way."
"We want to qualify for the next stage and I think our confidence is good, especially after our last home game. We're going to have huge support from our fans so I think we're going to be ready."
City need to win - then check the tablepublished at 13:43 28 January
13:43 28 January
Josko Gvardiol says he prefers the old Champions League format.
It was certainly easier to work out what was going to happen in the knockout stages, when you knew the top two from each group went through.
For Manchester City supporters, the demand for victory against Club Brugge tomorrow will quickly be placed by an assessment of where their club is going to finish and who they will play if they do go through.
As City are presently outside the top 24, it is hard to even hazard a guess as to who Pep Guardiola's side will play if they make it through.
We do know they can finish no higher than 19th in the 36-team table, so whoever they get, the first leg next month will be at home.
If they win, they will definitely finish above Club Brugge. But also, as PSG and Stuttgart play each other, both are on 10 points and both, currently, are in the top 24, so City will finish ahead of at least one of them. So a win gets them to 22nd. In addition, Benfica have a tough looking game at Juventus.
So, best guess, a win for City will see them finish 21st which, as it presently stands, would mean a play off with Feyenoord or Lille, who are 11th and 12th. But it probably won't stay like that.
Guardiola on Bobb, qualifying for play-offs and 'thinking we're going to do it'published at 13:01 28 January
13:01 28 January
Katie Stafford BBC Sport journalist
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's must-win Champions League game against Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Winger Jeremy Doku is unavailable and will be out injured "for a while". However, Oscar Bobb, who has not played since 10 August, is likely to return to the matchday squad.
Guardiola said "we will see" when asked if John Stones will play.
On needing a victory to remain in the competition: "It is not a problem. It's an opportunity - a challenge - and we will face it."
He said he "is not thinking" about not qualifying and instead: "I'm thinking we're going to do it."
On the Belgian opponents: "They haven't lost a game in 20 games. They are consistent, solid, aggressive and don't concede chances. We have to perform really well to win the game."
He said he does not feel City have turned a corner yet "because it's been only a few games" of better results.
In response to whether he would be embarrassed if his side go out: "Thank you for your concern about whether we are going out. But you can concern me after the game and I will answer you."
He said he is "not naive enough to not know how important it is financially for the club to go through" but the sporting, not the financial reasons, are more important to him.
Is Rashford 'too big for his boots'?published at 12:39 28 January
12:39 28 January
Media caption,
On BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, the panel discussed the future of Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, with them all in agreement that a move away is in his best interest because there is no going back from Ruben Amorim's comments.
Former England captain Steph Houghton said: "What are his ambitions? Because he hasn't played enough football over the last few months, so is a move about getting the desire back on the pitch and playing more.
"We know there is potential there because in that 30-goal season he was really good for Manchester United, but that has not been consistent enough.
"At 27-years-old he's not a young boy anymore. He is experienced and this is probably a crucial move or season for him now."
Chris Sutton added: "It is quite basic what Amorim said and is like a last resort. It is not difficult [to train well] but for whatever reason he is playing up. Amorim is just asking him to do the same as everyone else and go in [to training] and apply himself.
"It is totally unacceptable. Rashford is a problem. But are any clubs going to want to take him because Amorim has come out publicly and said all of these things about him and you can't see it doing him any favours?
"They don't know which version of Rashford they are going to see. He is too big for his boots."
Man City v Club Brugge: Did you know?published at 12:33 28 January
12:33 28 January
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Club Brugge have never won away to English opposition in European competition in 14 previous attempts. Only Anderlecht (19) and Dynamo Kyiv (15) have played more matches without winning in England.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland has scored eight goals in four Champions League appearances against Belgian opponents, including four against Club Brugge - an average of a goal every 33 minutes.
Could Rashford be left to 'rot' at Old Trafford?published at 08:44 28 January
08:44 28 January
Media caption,
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says there is a possibility that Marcus Rashford will not find a club to leave Manchester United for before the transfer window closes and he "rots" until the summer.
Rashford is one of United's highest-earning players and the club do not want to be in a situation where they pay him to do nothing for half a season.
United will likely have to subsidise wages, but the New York Times' chief soccer correspondent Rory Smith believes this situation highlights United's ongoing issue of struggling to sell players.
"It is a problem for United and one of the reasons why they are up against the PSR threshold," Smith said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "The system relies on you being able to sell well, so when you aren't the figures don't look good.
"The players at United earn way too much money and it is way more than their reflective value in the market."
'Just the beginning of drastic' Man City rebuildpublished at 17:40 27 January
17:40 27 January
Freddie Pye Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
When the January transfer window arrives, very few Manchester City fans get their hopes up when it comes to new faces coming straight into Pep Guardiola's first-team.
However, off the back of a torrid run of form that has largely seen City exit the race for a fifth consecutive Premier League title, and languish towards the bottom of the Champions League, the club hierarchy knew they had to get to work on the next generation of Guardiola's side.
That is exactly what has happened.
Saturday evening gave us our first glimpse into the future and, the opening five minutes aside, you can see exactly why Txiki Begiristain and his colleagues invested so heavily in Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush.
The 20-year-old Uzbek brought exactly what was anticipated - a somewhat raw and developing defender who shone in French football and will have no problem getting to grips with the English game's physicality, speed, and unpredictability.
His desire to get involved in tackling and shoulder-to-shoulder battles will make him a firm fan favourite at City for years to come. That started immediately with the emphatic show of support for Khusanov after a difficult opening 54 minutes.
Then there's Marmoush - the Bundesliga's "best player", in the words of Begiristain. Hardly short of confidence, sharp in attacking phases, an eye for goal and bringing exactly the sort of fresh impetus that this existing crop of players desperately needed. It will help keep their season alive and drive them into a new era after the campaign comes to a close.
This is just the beginning of a drastic and much-needed rebuild. It is certainly exciting and a firm reminder that Guardiola's vision will remain for years to come, perhaps long beyond the reign of the Catalan mastermind.
'Sour would be an understatement' - fan on possible Garnacho exitpublished at 17:10 27 January
17:10 27 January
Alex Turk Fan writer
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A week of the January transfer window remains and the focal point of Manchester United's potential business is Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea.
How has it come to this? How has the Glazers' financial mismanagement reached a point where United could be ready to hand a main rival to one of their biggest academy successes in recent history?
The thing is, I get it. Ruben Amorim needs players who are already suited to the system he is attempting to instil - not those who could fit in a few years.
History has taught us that United's post-Sir Alex Ferguson managers do not get that long.
A move to Napoli would be reluctantly acceptable. While I do not believe £60m represents Garnacho's true value, it is enough to recruit a top-class replacement who will instantly upgrade Amorim's firepower.
However, gift-wrapping the 20-year-old and shipping him off to Stamford Bridge would be the latest of many mistakes in the first year of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's regime.
Watching Garnacho shine for Chelsea in the coming years would taste sour enough after the time and resources United have committed to his development since 2020.
But if Chelsea pocket twice as much as they paid for the Argentine when he inevitably realises his potential and Europe's powerhouses come calling? Sour would be an understatement.
Youth, courage, success. Three words that United take pride in plastering over their stadium, training facilities and kits.
But this deal would prove that the value of all three is rapidly deteriorating - just like many other aspects that make this club what it is.
Image source, Getty Images
