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It’s match week again in the Champions League. Hitting now its fifth match Manchester City will face Porto tomorrow in Portugal. Addressing the media ahead of the latest Champions League game, the City manager declared how important a fit Mendy was to the squad. He also touched on expectations and more.
Let’s see what he said-
“It’s so important for us (that) he (Mendy) is fit,”
“Scoring goals from Mendy is the last thing I want from him - I want him to defend well, to be be fit and be focused. That’s what I want from him.
“He played two 90 minutes and played quite well. But still, we have to wait. It depends on him if he can maintain regular training and focus.
“If he scores OK, but these are the things I want from him.”
“Joao made an incredible impact this season,”
“Especially many things, like commitment and focus. Still he has to work and concentrate for 90 minutes, but he helped us a lot when Oleks and Ake injured.
“He recovers after games immediately. He has personality. In the final third he has a unique quality… he is like a winger in the final third.
“Like Mendy, he must focus on defending and we work on it since he came in. I have the feeling he is getting better.”
“It will be a tough physical game for sure. It was here. They have incredible team spirit and have outstanding physicality,” Guardiola warned
“It will be tough, we know it. It’s the Champions League away.
“Top teams in Portugal have to win every weekend. When you have that mentality in all departments, it makes them so dangerous.
“I am thinking about it,” he added when asked if he would rotate.
“We have a lot of games. But it’s not rotation. Every game is played because the best player is selected for the specific game.”
He added: “No [Academy players won’t be used].
“We have 19 players fit for the first team squad and all will travel to Porto. It’s a difficult opponent. We need the best players as possible.”
“That’s why we expect a difficult game. We did when they came here and it was. Tomorrow will be too.”
That will do it for this week’s press conference. Thoughts on Pep’s rating of Mendy?