Manchester City dismantled Wolverhampton 4-0 on Saturday to kick off their Premier League season in style, but Pep Guardiola cut a frustrated figure in the aftermath.
At a time when most of his colleagues complain about the lack of signings, the Spaniard was annoyed at having too many options at his disposal.
“I like a deep squad to compete in all competitions but I don’t want to leave players at home,” he said.
"It’s not healthy. You cannot create a good vibe or atmosphere to compete.
“The club has known [about]
it since last season but the situation is what it is.
"In the next two weeks, people will talk with players and agents to find a solution. We have to reduce the squad because it will be difficult to sustain the vibe of the team.”
If the size of the squad annoyed Guardiola, he was elated with his new signings’ immediate impact as Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki both scored at Molineux.
Tijjani Reijnders steals the show on Premier League debut
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates with Tijjani Reijnders after scoring their side's third goal during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at Molineux on August 16, 2025 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Getty Images
A £46.3m ($62.7m) arrival from AC Milan in the summer transfer window, the Dutchman stole the show on his Premier League debut, setting up the opener with 33 minutes gone.
Drifting in between the lines, he delicately scooped a ball over the Wolverhampton’s defence for Rico Lewis to run onto, before squaring it to Erling Haaland for the simplest of tap-ins.
Just minutes later, Reijnders turned from provider to finisher, exchanging passes with Oscar Bobb, before calmly rolling the ball past Wolves keeper Jose Sa.
The pair combined again shortly after the hour-mark, with City’s new signings teeing up Haaland by cutting the ball back across the box, before the Norwegian rifled the ball past Sa.
"It’s a great start," Reijnders told BBC’s Match of the Day.
"Very happy with an assist and a goal and a very good win. It is a great start and we have to keep going now.
"I saw the intensity and it is pretty hard, but it is nice to play in the Premier League and to score on my debut is always nice.
"I'm always trying to find space in the box and work to give assists. My type of game is to be a box-to-box player and help the team with goals and assists."
The Dutch international is the first City player to score and assist a goal on his Premier League since Sergio Aguero accomplished the feat in a 4-0 thrashing of Swansea City on the opening day of the 2011-12 campaign.
According to figures from Opta, Reijnders ranked second among City players for passes in the final third on Saturday with 22 behind Nico Gonzalez’s 24 and third in shots and crosses with three each.
He also ranked third in terms of touches, with 82 and completed 52 of his 57 attempted passes.
“Really good,” was Guardiola’s verdict on Reijnders after the final whistle.
"Lovely guy and has made an impact from day one. His pace, he can help with the holding midfield.
"He can make runs inside the pockets and the spaces that sometimes we allow defenders to create.
“At Milan he was exceptional and with the national team. We knew he is a top signing for the coming years for City.”
Can Tijjani Reijnders replace Kevin De Bruyne?
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 06: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, embraces Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City after the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Manchester City FC at Old Trafford on April 06, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Getty Images
City’s midfield lack of physicality and running power was badly exposed both domestically and in Europe last season.
The issue was exacerbated by the absences of reigning Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who missed almost the entire season with a knee injury, and Mateo Kovacic.
Gonzalez’s arrival from Porto in January for $67.8m did little to stem the flow, but on Saturday there were signs the Argentine has finally found his feet in Guardiola’s plans.
Reijnders’ arrival also appeared to have addressed the lack of dynamism in City’s engine room.
The Dutch international was arguably Milan’s player of the season last term, with 10 goals and four assists in Serie A. Among midfielders, only Scott McTominay, had more goal involvements with 16.
Milan signed Reijnders from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in summer 2023 for $22.8 million, but his initial return of just four goals in 50 appearances across all competitions was underwhelming.
Former Milan manager Stefano Pioli even teased him in January about his frequent off-target shots.
However, twelve months later, Reijnders began finding the same promising positions with newfound composure, leading to a significant surge in his goal tally.
Last season, his shots on target more than tripled (from 0.25 to 0.87 per match), and his conversion rate more than doubled, climbing from 10% to 23%.
He also ranked fifth for through balls and ninth for forward passes in Serie A last season.
Why AC Milan let Tijjani Reijnders go
MILAN, ITALY - APRIL 23: Tijjani Reijnders of Milan celebrates his goal during the coppa Italia Semi Final match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
Getty Images
It begs the question as to why Milan let their best player go after a disappointing season in which they finished eighth in Serie A and missed out on qualification to a European competition.
But under the ownership of American investment firm RedBird, balancing the books has become as important for the Rossoneri as winning trophies once was.
Up until January, RedBird had not broken the $35m barrier on signings in three years since taking over from Elliott Management in the weeks following the last Serie A title triumph in 2022.
Reijnders’ sale this summer came as Milan recouped $175m in player sales as they needed to plug the hole left by the lack of European football.
Milan’s loss was City’s gain, with the Premier League giants signing Reijnders for a relatively cut price in today’s over-inflated market.
After finishing trophy-less for only the second time in Guardiola’s nine seasons at the Etihad, City needed to refresh their squad as Kevin De Bruyne bid farewell to the club after a decade.
Along with Cherki and fellow summer arrivals James Trafford and Rayan Aït-Nouri, in Guardiola’s plans Reijnders represents City’s future and their present.
The Spaniard’s first signing at the Etihad was Ilkay Gundogan, a player who proved crucial to each of the 15 major trophies City have won under Guardiola.
Gundogan watched on from the bench as Reijnders pulled the strings for his new club on Saturday afternoon.
City and Guardiola will be hoping the Dutchman can go on to have the same impact as his teammate.