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PORTO 0-0 MANCITY: PEP GUARDIOLA’S SIDE HELD TO A DRAW AS GABRIEL JESUS LATE GOAL CANCELED OUT BY VAR.

Pep Guardiola has spent the past few days telling his Manchester City squad to forget about the notion of Premier League rotation now they are match sharp.

So with Champions League qualification already sealed, Tuesday night effectively acted as a trial for tasks to come.

Seven of them had watched on as City slapped five past Burnley and the challenge was to force a way into the team for Fulham. Or more pertinently, the one heading for Old Trafford in just over a week’s time.

Ultimately they carved enough chances to maintain their 100 per cent record but those all arrived rather late on a fairly dry night.

It will certainly be interesting to see how many have enhanced their chances following Guardiola’s first goalless draw in Europe since 2015. Despite all that, the City boss appeared happy enough.

‘They showed me today that everybody s fit, everybody is ready,’ he said with bite.

‘So I can trust these players who played today and Burnley. They have competition between them now. That is good news.’

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MANCITY 5-0 BURNLEY: MAHREZ HITS HATRICK AS CITIZENS BATTER BURNLEY.

Riyad Mahrez hit a hat-trick and Kevin De Bruyne assisted two as Manchester City beat Burnley 5-0 for the fourth consecutive time at home.

City led in the sixth minute when Mahrez collected De Bruyne’s pass and curled the ball in.

Mahrez struck again on 22 minutes, finishing from Kyle Walker’s quick throw-in.

Benjamin Mendy claimed his first City goal on 41 minutes, converting De Bruyne’s assist for 3-0.

Jay Rodriguez forced a save from Ederson before City made the match safe with two goals in four minutes.

Ferran Torres made it 4-0 with his debut Premier League goal, then Mahrez completed his treble on 69 minutes, heading in substitute Phil Foden’s cross.

City move up to eighth with 15 points. Burnley remain 17th on five points.

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GUARDIOLA SIGNS TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH MANCHESTER CITY.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year contract with the Premier League club.

“Manchester City are pleased to announce that Pep Guardiola has signed a new two-year deal with the club,” City said in a statement. “The contract, which now runs to the summer of 2023, sees Guardiola’s commitment to City extended to seven years from his arrival in 2016.”


“Pep’s current five-year stay is already the longest commitment he has made to a football club since becoming a manager in 2008 – and this extension will see him overtake Joe Mercer and put him second on the Club’s list of longest-serving post-war managers.”

Ever since I arrived at Manchester City I have been made to feel so welcome in the club and in the city itself,” Guardiola said. “Since then we have achieved a great deal together, scored goals, won games and trophies, and we are all very proud of that success.”

The news will extinguish any hope that Barcelona had held of tempting the Catalan back to Camp Nou. Presidential candidate Victor Font had brought it up as a possibility he’d look in to, even though Guardiola himself has always played down the possibility of him returning to the club.

Born in Santpedor, Guardiola spent eleven years as a first-team player at Camp Nou before spending time in Italy, Qatar and Mexico.

As a coach, Guardiola built one of the greatest teams of all time at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, winning three consecutive La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, three Spanish Super Cups, two Champions Leagues, two European Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Guardiola then spent a year in New York on sabbatical before a three-season stint in Germany with Bayern Munich. He joined Manchester City in 2016 and has won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, three League Cups and two Community Shields at the Etihad Stadium.

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MANCITY 1-1 LIVERPOOL: JESUS STRIKE CANCELS OUT SALAH PENALTY IN ETIHAD DRAW.

Gabriel Jesus cancelled out a first-half penalty from Mohamed Salah as Manchester City drew 1-1 with Liverpool and denied the champions a return to the top of the table.

Salah fired Liverpool ahead from the penalty spot on 13 minutes after Sadio Mane drew a foul from Kyle Walker.

But Man City pulled level in the 31st minute with a smart turn and left-foot finish by Jesus from Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.

De Bruyne had the chance to put the home side ahead five minutes before half-time, after a Video Assistant Referee review confirmed a Joe Gomez handball, but the midfielder sent his penalty narrowly wide.

The teams traded chances in the second half, with Jesus’s header from Joao Cancelo’s cross going just wide moments before Roberto Firmino fizzed an effort over for Liverpool, but both sides had to settle for a point.

Man City are 11th on 12 points, six points behind leaders Leicester City, while Liverpool are third and five points above Pep Guardiola’s side.

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MANCITY THRASH OLYMPIACOS 3-0 TO MAKE IT THREE WINS FROM THREE.

Manchester City extended their 100 per cent record in this season’s Champions League with a 3-0 win over Olympiacos at the Etihad Stadium.

Ferran Torres became the third-youngest player in Champions League history to score in four consecutive appearances as he helped Manchester City to a third straight win in this season’s competition, a 3-0 success over Olympiacos.

Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are the only players to have netted in four games in a row at a younger age than 20-year-old Spain international Torres, who scored in the 12th minute, adding to his strikes against Porto and Marseille for City this term and against Atalanta for Valencia last season.

City went into this game unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions and could have been out of sight by the time the Greek champions began to put them under pressure in the second half.

But substitutes Gabriel Jesus and Joao Cancelo scored late on to clinch a result that extends City’s group stage streak to 14 games without defeat, and manager Pep Guardiola will be pleased with their form as he aims to take City beyond the quarter-finals for the first time in his reign.

Torres met a City corner with a sublime backheeled shot that flew narrowly wide after six minutes.

City’s recent signing went one better six minutes later, playing a one-two with Kevin De Bruyne before sliding a low shot through the legs of goalkeeper Jose Sa to put the hosts in front.

Guardiola’s men continued to create the better chances and Raheem Sterling put the ball in the net, only to have his close-range effort ruled out for offside.

A poor pass by Phil Foden afforded Mathieu Valbuena a shot at goal early in the second half but he fired narrowly wide under pressure from John Stones.

Youssef El-Arabi tested Ederson with a shot from just inside the box as City found themselves pinned back again, and Jose Holebas later blazed wide.

But De Bruyne played in Jesus nine minutes from time and the Brazilian lashed the ball home from an acute angle, before Cancelo’s carefully placed shot found the bottom corner from just outside the box to wrap up the win.

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KYLE WALKER SCORES TO GIVE CITY VICTORY OVER SHEFFIELD UTD.

Kyle Walker’s first Premier League away goal handed Manchester City a 1-0 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Ferran Torres twice went close for City early on, heading wide before testing Aaron Ramsdale from close range.

City took the lead on 28 minutes with a goal from Walker, a former Sheff Utd player. On his 100th Premier League appearance for City, Walker received Kevin De Bruyne’s pass and shot in low from outside the area.

Sheff Utd’s best spell came around the 70-minute mark as substitute John Lundstram fired over from a well-worked opening.

Ramsdale again denied Bernardo Silva from doubling City’s lead late on, one of seven saves the goalkeeper made.

City are four matches unbeaten and rise to seventh with 11 points. Sheffield United remain on one point in 19th.

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EX-CITY PLAYER, JEREMY WISTEN DIES AT 17.

Manchester City have paid tribute to former academy player Jeremy Wisten following his death at the age of 17.

Wisten was born in Malawi but moved to England as a baby before joining City’s under-13 level in 2016.

A City statement read: “The Manchester City family are saddened to learn of the passing of former academy player Jeremy Wisten. We send our deepest condolences to his friends and family.

Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.”

Aymeric Laporte was among members of City’s senior squad to pay tribute to Wisten, who was a promising defender. Laporte tweeted: “Horrible news…RIP young man.”

Cole Palmer and Tommy Doyle, who played alongside Wisten in City’s youth teams, also paid tributes.

“You Will Be Forever Missed,” Palmer wrote on Instagram. “Fly High My Brother Rest In Paradise!”

Manchester United academy player Reece Devine posted: “Thank you for all the memories brother. I can’t believe how you must have been feeling. I wish we could have helped.

“You were always making everybody around you laugh and smile. Rest easy. Love you always. Remember to always speak up.”

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CITY’S INJURY WOES WORSEN BY AGUERO’S RETURN TO THE SIDELINES.

Pep Guardiola fears this season could come down to the survival of the fittest after Sergio Aguero dealt Manchester City a fresh injury blow.

Aguero, City’s record goalscorer, could be out for another month after suffering a muscular injury in Saturday’s game at West Ham.

The Argentinian was playing just his third match since recovering from the knee operation he had in June.

City had been trying to ease him back into action but he encountered a problem in the first half of the 1-1 draw at the London Stadium and was withdrawn at the interval.

With Gabriel Jesus also sidelined, the 32-year-old’s latest setback leaves City without a frontline striker for Tuesday’s Champions League Group C clash at Marseille.

To compound matters, Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy and Nathan Ake also miss out at the Stade Velodrome while Aymeric Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne have only just returned to fitness in a difficult start to the season.

Manager Guardiola recognises, however, City are not the only club to struggle due to the nature of this season’s pandemic-affected calendar.

Guardiola said: “We are not an exception compared to the other teams in Europe. We’re on the same schedule. Now it is recovery, preparation, recovery and preparation, recovery and preparation.

“We don’t have time to practise much. Everyone got the statistics in the Premier League, we have 47 per cent more muscular injuries than the same period last season. It’s not just about City, it’s about everyone.

“If the people can reflect on this and the guys to protect the players it will be good for the future, if we don’t it will increase. Now we have to protect the players as best as possible. The strongest ones will survive, the others will fall down.”

With hindsight, Guardiola admits it may have been wise to bring in another striker over the summer but the club spent the bulk of their transfer budget on defensive pair Ruben Dias and Ake.

Guardiola said: “We considered it, we thought about it another type of striker but we could not.

“If you decide to buy a striker, it has to be a striker in the league of Gabriel and Sergio, but we cannot afford it. That is the reality.”

“It depends on the injury,” Guardiola said. “When it is minimum it will be 10-15 days. If it is longer it will be three weeks to a month. I don’t know.”

While City’s form in the Premier League has been mixed, they began in the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Porto. Victory over a Marseille side beaten in their opener by Olympiacos could see them establish an early position of strength in the group.

The French side are managed by Andre Villas-Boas, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss.

Guardiola said: “He is an experienced manager, he knows perfectly the Premier League.

“He’s a young manager who’s had success and he is doing a good job here in Marseille.”

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WESTHAM 1-1 MANCITY: FABIANSKI HEROICS SECURES A POINT FOR THE HAMMERS.

Late saves from Lukasz Fabianski earned West Ham United their first point against Manchester City since 2016 in a 1-1 draw at London Stadium.

West Ham went ahead against the run of play on 18 minutes with a brilliant overhead kick by Michail Antonio from Vladimir Coufal’s cross.

Phil Foden equalised six minutes after replacing Sergio Aguero at half-time, turning smartly to convert Joao Cancelo’s cross.

Kevin De Bruyne also came off the bench as City pushed for a winner, but were denied by Fabianski and resolute West Ham defending.

Arthur Masuaku made a vital 84th-minute block on Riyad Mahrez.

Two minutes later, Fabianski denied Raheem Sterling one-on-one, before tipping Mahrez’s shot on to a post in stoppage time.

West Ham, four matches unbeaten, stay 10th on eight points. City are a place below on goal difference.

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LONE RANGERS: STERLING RETURN MANCITY TO WINNING WAY AFTER FIRST HALF GOAL.

Raheem Sterling’s first-half strike returned Manchester City to winning ways, beating Arsenal 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

City started strongly and got their rewards on 23 minutes, with Sterling converting after Bernd Leno had parried Phil Foden’s shot.

Bukayo Saka almost levelled five minutes before half-time, but his shot after a one-two with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was saved by Ederson.

Nicolas Pepe tested Ederson with a header in the first minute of the second half and curled a free-kick wide as Arsenal searched in vain for an equaliser.

City’s first league victory since Matchweek 2 extended their run of consecutive Premier League wins over Arsenal to seven and moved them to up 10th on seven points.

Arsenal have nine points, having played a match more, and stay fifth.