Pep Guardiola has claimed Manchester City are “still not ready” to win the Champions League because they are not clinical enough in front of goal.
The champions scored twice in 90 first-half seconds to seal victory at Crystal Palace, with Gabriel Jesus recording his 50th goal for the club. The 22-year-old has scored in all three league matches he has started this season, yet Guardiola singled out the striker – who was preferred to Sergio Agüero after impressing City’s manager in two matches for Brazil during the international break – for failing to convert a series of chances in the second half.
In particular, Guardiola referred to an opportunity in the dying stages when Jesus opted to shoot rather than set up an easy chance for Kevin De Bruyne and insisted that could have come back to haunt City had it not been for earlier saves from Ederson to deny Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha.
“The last action … like when he has to pass to Kevin, he has to do it,” Guardiola said. “But he is so young. We missed a lot of chances and also lost a lot of chances in the box. We have to be clinical.
“The people say about the Champions League, that target. We still are not ready. We create a lot, don’t concede, but can improve. We’ve scored a lot over the last two seasons and I don’t have doubts about that, but we have to keep going, work on that.”
Given City have racked up 29 goals from nine Premier League matches to follow the 95 and 106 they amassed in the previous title-winning seasons, Guardiola’s claim is bizarre. It should perhaps be taken more as a challenge to Jesus, who expressed frustration at his lack of opportunities in September having made only eight league starts in 2018-19.
Agüero was involved in a minor car crash on Wednesday on his way to training but Guardiola explained that Jesus had been preferred after performing well for his country. “He fights with Sergio and Sergio fights with him for one position,” Guardiola said. “It’s good. Sometimes I need Sergio for many things and sometimes I need Gabriel. Of course there is more to come. For him and for everyone. I can’t play any more because I’m not the age to play, but he can play – it’ll be a long career. His mentality means he’ll always have success. He is hungry, he wants to become an important striker around the world. We are lucky to have him.”
The selection of Rodri to partner Fernandinho in central defence raised eyebrows, although Nicolás Otamendi is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s Champions League home game against Atalanta after returning from international duty with a back injury. Guardiola said he had been impressed with how the converted holding midfielders had adapted and praised the full-backs João Cancelo and Benjamin Mendy for their contribution to City’s new-look back four.
“It’s an option – Rodri can play there,” he said. “When we decide to do it we’ll have more midfield players on the pitch and we did it. I don’t know what is going to happen in the future but he convinced me as an alternative. João had his first game away in the Premier League; it’s not the same as the Etihad. He was aggressive and has incredible quality with the ball. Benjamin as well. He was injured long term and hopefully he can stay because he has a special quality.”