Pep Guardiola picked out a number of players for praise after his Manchester City team eased to a 4-0 Champions League victory over Slovan Bratislava.
Early goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden set the 2023 winners on course for a comfortable victory in Slovakia before second-half efforts from Erling Haaland and James McAtee added gloss to Tuesday’s scoreline.
Foden’s contribution included setting up McAtee’s first goal for the club and Guardiola was pleased to see him coming back into form after a slow start to the campaign owing to fitness issues.
Guardiola said: “He made a fantastic goal. I have the feeling he is getting back to his best step by step and, of course, Phil is really important for us.”
Academy product McAtee, who came off the bench in the second half, is hoping to make his mark at the club after spending most of the past two seasons on loan at Sheffield United.
Guardiola said: “Everyone adores him. You saw the reaction of the players, so everyone loves him.
“With teams who play so deep he has the quality to find it. He scored and had a few more chances.
“Of course he will not be a regular player but in a lot of games he will help us and when he plays like he did today I can always count on him.”
Rico Lewis also made an impressive contribution having been named as the starting right-back ahead of regular captain Kyle Walker.
Guardiola said: “I am beyond satisfied. The way Rico is playing, there are no words. He does everything. He made an assist and is really strong.
“You can always count on him and he is intelligent. Intelligence is the biggest attribute and he has it.”
Haaland was disappointed to be taken off shortly after scoring his 42nd goal in 41 Champions League appearances but Guardiola said it was important not to overburden him.
The City manager said: “As a manager I am more secure when Erling is on the pitch but, at 0-3, the game was almost over and we have to take care of him.”
Overall, Guardiola could reflect on a satisfactory evening that saw his side claim their first victory in this season’s competition after their opening draw with Inter Milan.
He said: “We have to do what we have to do. It’s a joy to be manager of this team. I love it and I love them.
“We created a lot of chances and we are improving step by step. It was a good night.”
Despite being outclassed by City, Slovan still enjoyed the occasion of their first home game in the competition proper.
Coach Vladimir Weiss Sr said: “It was beautiful. Unfortunately the result that was not that great but we played in my opinion the best team in the world.
“Never before have I played against such a team with such players and such a manager.
“It was impossible to defend against them but I was happy to stand five metres away from Pep. I enjoyed it and we will continue enjoying it.”
[(Racing Club de Avellaneda) Strength]: 1. Racing Club de Avellaneda lost their first encounter 0-1, so they cannot afford any loss this time and must go all out to win, fully motivated.2. In the last domestic league game, Adrian Balboa performed well and scored the first goal to put the team ahead.3. Racing Club de Avellaneda scored 5 goals and conceded 5 in the last 5 games with good performance...
[(Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) Strength]: 1. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors performed stably across all competitions this season. Since April, the team have remained unbeaten in the last 20 matches.2. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors scored at halftime in 4 consecutive games, getting into form quickly on offense.3. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors scored at least 2 goals per game in 5 consecutive matches, showing strong attack.4....
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[(Crvena Zvezda) Strength]: 1. Crvena Zvezda vow to win this home game in order to grab the advancing advantage, with full motivation.2. Aleksandar Katai performed very well in the last domestic league game. He scored a hat-trick in a win for the team.3. Crvena Zvezda defeated Mladost Lucani 4-1 in the last domestic league game. They achieved 7 wins and 1 draw in the last 8 games, being in red-hot...
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[(Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Strength]: 1. Sanfrecce Hiroshima have achieved 14 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses in the league so far this season. They have scored 30 goals and conceded 18 goals in 26 league matches, and currently rank 5th in the league standings. The team will play at home in this game and have a strong desire to win.2. Naoto Arai, the main defender of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, has performed stea...
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