Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola picked two debutants in his first team selection of the season at the Club World Cup
Comments
Sport
Tijjani Reijnders
Tijjani Reijnders
Pep Guardiola had positive words for Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki after their first appearances for Manchester City. Two of the club's four summer signings were named in the starting XI against Wydad in the Club World Cup and helped the Blues to a 2-0 win.
Reijnders was at the base of an attacking midfield picked by Guardiola that also included Cherki and Phil Foden. Foden scored inside two minutes and then provided the corner that Jeremy Doku netted from to give City complete control of the game.
Both signings looked to be finding their feet in the team as can be expected, although Reijnders showed some promise playing balls through for forwards to run onto in the box. The Dutch midfielder earned a seven in the MEN's player ratings, while Cherki got a six.
Guardiola was happy to see both on the pitch as he considers new options for the season ahead, and was content with what the duo offered. The Club World Cup is being used by the club to get City into a position where they can put up a better challenge in the Premier League and Champions League over the next year.
"It's good that they played. Tijji played really good, Rayan played good moments," said Guardiola. "Everyone has to know us and see what happened.
Content Image
Content Image
City's manager also suggested there was work to do to accommodate the new players in the squad as Foden scored his first goal since January. The Blues need to make sure their midfield is stronger for the new season and a firing Foden would significantly help that.
"He's going to be important. He plays another role, we have a lot of No.10s, we have to adjust many things but step by step," added Guardiola.
City take on Al Ain in the early hours of Monday morning UK time before facing Juventus next Thursday to complete their group matches.
They will have to play their next match without Rico Lewis after the defender was sent off in the closing moments of the Wydad win. VAR looked at the incident but decided not to overrule the decision - much to Guardiola's dismay.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
*And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.*