UEFA Nations League - Round 2

The September 2018 international break has ended, and whilst many viewers are eagerly awaiting the return of the English Premier League, as well as other domestic leagues throughout the world, Manchester City’s band of men put in a series of strong performances during this break.

With the commencement of the first-ever UEFA Nations League, many of City’s players competed in this tournament over the past week.

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s Ukraine have started brilliantly as his side collected collected six points out of their first two matches in the competition. Similarly, Benjamin Mendy’s France have collected four points out of a possible six.

Bernardo Silva’s Portugal earned their first three points of the tournament with a victory over Italy whilst Vincent Kompany played an important role in Belgium’s win over Iceland. Germany, supported by Leroy Sané and İlkay Gündoğan, were held to a goalless draw by France.

Unfortunately for Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph, however, England lost their opening fixture against Spain. England will have to look toward the international break in October to earn their first set of points in the competition.

Outside of European contention, Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria drew 1-1 with Gambia in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Qualification Group D.

As previously mentioned, City’s Argentine and Brazilian contingencies did not participate during this international break, as they were not recalled to their respective national teams.

Claudio Bravo and Kevin De Bruyne remained injured and thus did not compete with their international teammates.

Overall, it would appear that City’s players fared well whilst on international duty (aside from England). Now, with the conclusion of the September 2018 international break, the Blues can divert their attention toward their EPL match against Fulham on Saturday.