Guardiola plots European progress

LEIPZIG

Ag e n c i e s

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola joked he could throw caution to the wind to finish off Leipzig in the Champions League by fielding “nine strikers”

City were held to a 1-1 draw in Germany on Wednesday in the first leg of their last 16 tie with Riyad Mahrez’s opener cancelled out by a header from Josko Gvardiol

I didn t want to come here and lose 4-3 It will have to be more open in Manchester,” said Guardiola who coached Bayern Munich to Bundesliga titles in each of his three years in Germany and said City could not compete” with the speed of German teams

“We don’t have the team to compete with them with a lot of transitions they are better than us and they are faster than us, except Kyle (Walker) and Erling (Haaland)

The pace they have, we don t have it

Guardiola added: “Maybe in the second leg I will be crazy and decide to play with nine strikers But I’ve coached in this country and I analysed Leipzig and I needed this type of control ”

The City manager gathered his team together on the pitch for an impromptu motivational session after the final whistle in an attempt to lift their spirits

“They had their heads down, I told them ‘Why are your heads down, put your heads up, the Spanish manager told the post-match press conference

“It was a really good game the game you played If people don t like it, it doesn t matter, you played the game the way it should be played ”

The City manager said the Champions League used to be quite easy , but is now such a demanding competition” “All of the teams in all of the leagues are really strong ”

Leipzig manager Marco Rose revealed how his half-time talk which started quietly and ended up a little bit louder”, pushed his players to stop “playing City’s game ” “I told them ‘what are you doing, coming into a game like this and standing deep – that wasn t the plan ”

Rose said he was confident ahead of the second leg in Manchester on March 14 but admitted to go to City, we’d rather have a 3-0 advantage to feel better ”

“We can take plenty out of the game so that we can not play another first half like we did today gvardiol ‘will sTay a leipzig player’: RB Leipzig manager Marco Rose said sought-after centre-back Josko Gvardiol is our player and will stay our player” Gvardiol headed in Leipzig’s second-half equaliser and also kept City star Erling Haaland in check on an unhappy evening for the Norway forward

In his second season in Leipzig since moving from Dynamo Zagreb, Gvardiol’s form for Leipzig, as well as his performances at the World Cup for Croatia, has reportedly made him a target of several European clubs Gvardiol was recently quoted in the German media saying I might be out the door after Christopher (Nkunku)” in reference to the French striker ’s reported deal with Chelsea Rose, however, shot down speculation the defender could be off to the Premier League saying “the headlines don’t seem to be bothering him” “He’s a RB Leipzig player, I think he ll stay a player for RB Leipzig “In the story, he said that about Christopher, but he laughed – of course, in the newspaper, you don t see the laugh “He said he likes it here and he feels comfortable here As a trainer you want to work with the best players vative view ahead of a very important winter in England of which he will be an integral part,” said chief selector George Bailey Jhye Richardson will bolster the fast-bowling stocks after recovering from a hamstring injury Marsh, who is recovering from an ankle injury is expected to play two domestic matches for Western Australia before heading to India, while Maxwell has already made his return from a broken leg with Victoria’s state team “With the World Cup just over seven months away, these matches in India are an important step in our preparation,” said chief selector George Bailey Glenn, Mitchell and Jhye are all important players in what we think the squad might look like come October ” Squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

England unchanged for second New Zealand Test after ‘per fect game’

WELLINGTON

A F P

England named an unchanged team for the second and final Test against New Zealand in Wellington starting Friday, after captain Ben Stokes said they had played the perfect game to go 1-0 up in the series The tourists dominated the first Test in Mount Maunganui to win by 267 runs with 40-year-old fast bowler James Anderson claiming seven wickets The haul has seen him return to the top of the Test bowling world rankings for the sixth time in his career and the first time since 2018, deposing Australia captain Pat Cummins Stokes was not surprised Anderson had returned to the pinnacle after claiming match figures of 7-54 at the Bay Oval, forming part of a potent pace trio with Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson I don t think he ll be that fussed by it to be honest He’ll just keep doing his thing,” Stokes said on Thursday “I think, and a lot of guys in the dressing room do that Jimmy has been certainly one of the best in the world for a long, long time “He’s someone I know I can throw the ball to when I need a wicket, so having someone like him along with Broady and Robbo is a real treat to be able to captain at the moment ”

Stokes said consideration had been given to resting one or more of his front-line seamers for the Basin Reserve contest but all three informed him on Thursday they felt fresh and ready to go

‘Tough sessions’: He hinted the trio may have been motivated by the grass-laden nature of the pitch, which appears to hold the promise of sideways movement It is a fine line between picking your strongest 11 but then also making sure your bowlers are a hundred percent ready,” Stokes said