With so many games in City’s fixture list at the moment there’s plenty of football-focused chat to get involved with, so let’s get started with Yaya Toure‘s view on what Barcelona have taught the Blues this week.
The Daily Mail’s Jack Gaughan reports: “Yaya Toure has urged Manchester City to take heed of Barcelona’s Nou Camp miracle and avoid complacency in Monaco next week.
“News of Barca’s astonishing Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain soon reached the City dressing room after their goalless draw with Stoke on Wednesday night.
“Pep Guardiola’s City take a 5-3 lead to French Ligue 1 leaders Monaco next Wednesday hoping to clinch a place in the quarter-finals but Toure warned his team-mates to be mentally ready.
“‘You must not believe you’re already through,’ he said. ‘We have to be careful because those guys have played fewer games than us.
“‘First we have the FA Cup on Saturday at Middlesbrough, which will be tough. Then it’s Monaco, which will be very, very tough.’”
Elsewhere, Toure was keen to stress the positives of Wednesday’s night’s result despite the overriding feeling of frustration after the match.
The MEN’s Simon Bajkowski writes: “More dropped points at the Etihad - this was their fifth home draw of the campaign - have proven costly in the team’s attempt to catch Chelsea, but Toure was keen to point out the defensive solidity of the team.
“‘We created a lot of chances,’ he said. ‘Sometimes that can happen in football, when you’re unlucky. When you see all the game, there were chances for us.
“‘At the last minute or at the last moment we missed concentration, missing big chances.
“‘In the past we would have lost this kind of game because we get frustrated, attack like crazy and then get hit on the counter.’”
Toure’s midfield partner Fernandinho is refusing to give up on the title despite Chelsea’s 10-point lead.
In comments reported by Sambafoot, the Brazilian said: “When you have this desire to win, to win, to win, I would not feel comfortable losing a title.
“We have to believe, I still believe. We all know the Premier League is so tough and many, many things can happen - right until the last game of the season. I think this month is going to decide if we are going to be up there new the top of the table or not.”
Finally a couple of quick links for your perusal.
First the Daily Star have a go at picking the team for the Boro game.
And ahead of Friday night’s FA Youth Cup semi-final, the Stoke Sentinel profile the Potters youngsters who will be playing at CFA.
That’s your lot for today, we’ll be here same time, same place on Saturday!
