Charlie: Feels a strange decision and some of Pep Guardiola's team selections, formation and tactics have been a bit unusual in the last few months. But Pep has plenty of credit in the bank so we'll just have to trust and hope he gets it right. Don’t forget, it was only in April that Guardiola was accused of being disrespectful after celebrating wildly a City goal in front of Kostas Tsimikas and Arthur Melo when Liverpool were last in town. Liverpool have beaten Man City at the Etihad just TWICE under Jurgen Klopp... bu (11/2023): Sitting just a point behind Man City in second place the Merseyside outfit have a chance to steal points off Pep Guardiola 's side and slow them down as they target their fourth straight league title. However, the FA says that the rule restricts agents from having an interest or influence only in an English club. This prohibition on a conflict of interest does not apply to buying into an overseas club. City are understood to have been given this assurance by the FA before they moved from their informal partnership with Pere Guardiola and Girona, in which several City players have been loaned to the Spanish club over the past two years, to a formal deal. The Spanish FA does not have a similar restriction, so Pere Guardiola was free to buy his 44.3% share of the Catalan club, with The City Football Group – the overarching global corporation owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nayan – buying an equal 44.3% stake.

But by all accounts he was a hugely popular figure in the dressing room and adored by Messi, having joined on a free transfer from Celta Vigo following an earlier loan. That kind of morale-boosting influence is priceless. 8. Adriano Akanji’s signing was then closed pretty swiftly, helped by the 27-year-old Swiss international having made it clear to Dortmund earlier in the year that he would not renew his contract.The USA international made a total of 12 appearances across all four competitions, conceding on just six occasions, an impressive return. Man City boss Pep Guardiola does not believe his side will win the Premier Leagu (04/2022): Guardiola believes this season's battle will be decided by points, given it would take Liverpool to draw and City lose for the destination of the trophy to be determined by the finest of margins. Pep Guardiola's tactics to evolve his team have turned Man City into a Covid-pro (12/2021): Manchester City are more prepared for disruptions than any other team in the Premier League because of the way their manager Pep Guardiola constantly evolves his side. He also played a key role in the Copa del Rey part of Barcelona’s 2009 treble, so his time with La Blaugrana wasn’t entirely without merit. 12. Ibrahim Afellay Asked again about Silva he said: “I want to work with guys who want to stay … but after that we have to get an offer … a proper offer. If they want him, they will take a plane, come here and talk with our sporting director, the CEO, to arrive at an agreement.

And new players will be coming in, with Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham tipped to be the name of the summer for any top European club — Guardiola, by the way, has never hidden his admiration for the English teenager. Guardiola’s four years as Barcelona manager coincided with the Mali international’s time at the club. Overlooked a little in the shadow of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, Keita certainly wasn’t underappreciated by his manager, who handed him nearly 200 appearances over four seasons. Having finished a distant fifth, some 22 points behind the champions last season, such a turnaround seems unthinkable but if any club knows how to navigate their way around Guardiola's City behemoth to title glory, it is Klopp’s Reds. Could Pep do it without Messi? Without Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets? Without his mother tongue? In another culture? In another league? How do you take over a treble-winning Bayern Munich side at the peak of its powers?

This week, in Abu Dhabi, City executives and Pere, as his brother’s representative, continued to discuss the details of a new deal with one sole aim: as soon as the manager gave the green light, a signature would be the only thing needed. Our coverage of Manchester City is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment He was again voted Premier League manager of the year after guiding City to four more trophies in 2018/19 to become the Club's most successful boss ever with six trophies in three seasons. In fairness to Alisson, the effort to get Salah away on a lightning counter was the same move that brought about a 1-0 win at Anfield last season and with such fine margins deciding fixtures of this magnitude, it was worth trying from the Brazil international. But on a day when the usually excellent No.1 was strangely shaky, its execution left a lot to be desired.

He won the La Liga title in three of his four seasons at the Camp Nou and lifted the UEFA Champions League twice.And while it would be stretching matters to suggest they passed with flying colours, that the Reds have emerged unscathed from the toughest challenge of any season will provide confidence to Klopp’s side and send a message to their main rivals. Liverpool have now lost just one of their last 24 games and that was when they had nine men, conceded a 96th-minute winner and were robbed by the most egregious error of the VAR era in the Premier League at Tottenham in September. Clearly they take some beating and a club can go far with that particular asset.