We’ll kick off with Danilo’s excellent performance against Liverpool at the weekend as he played in his third different position in four games.
The Brazilian looked completely at home as part of a back three and The Telegraph pick up on Pep Guardiola’s comments about his new signing.
They write: “Danilo could be asked to continue in a three-man defence after a strong showing against the Merseyside club. The Brazilian – a right-back by trade – was the only Premier League player to complete more than 100 passes at the weekend and Guardiola admitted his versatility could be invaluable for City this season
‘He will be so important,’ the City manager said. ‘He can play in the three at the back, he can play full-back - right or left. He can also play holding midfielder. He also knows how to handle the pressure because he’s been at Madrid and Porto - clubs where every weekend you have to win. That’s where his mentality comes from and that’s why he’s so important to us.’
Meanwhile the Bleacher Report carry the story of how Benjamin Mendy only had eyes for City this summer.
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev revealed that Mendy admitted he would have stayed at the club if it had been any other team but City interested in him as they report: “Mendy would have stayed at Monaco had he been pursued by Chelsea in the summer rather than Manchester City, according to the Ligue 1 champions’ vice-president,
“Vasilyev revealed to L’Equipe (via The Independent) that the French left-back was desperate to link up with City manager Pep Guardiola and it was eventually decided he should be allowed to leave:
‘For a while, we held off. And then, we thought—in spite of the offers that we had had for him and him indicating that he wanted to leave—could he have another season like the last one? At first, I said, ‘no, you’re staying’. He replied: ‘But Vadim, I really want to go to City and link up with Guardiola.’
‘On numerous occasions, he said to me: ‘If it was Chelsea, I’d stay; but if it’s a chance to work with Guardiola, I want to go.’ He’d spoken so frankly with me. So, when City met the asking price and when he became the most expensive defender in the world, there were no more arguments to have with him. We weighed up the for and against and said to him: ‘OK, you can go’.
Finally this morning, City fans have a new hero-in-the-making in the shape of Ederson.
The Brazilian keeper received a rousing reception as he was carried off at the weekend with a nasty wound to the face following a high boot from Sadio Mane.
There’s still plenty of debate about the comments of some so-called ‘experts’ at the weekend, but we’ll swerve those for now as one or two people might need to look at the scar the youngster has as a result of the injury.The Daily Mail write: “A new picture has emerged showing the full extent of the facial injury suffered by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson on Saturday.
“The Brazilian was caught by a studs up challenge from Liverpool winger Sadio Mane during the 5-0 victory.
“The 24-year-old, signed from Benfica for £35million in the summer, was given oxygen and carried off on a stretcher after the incident.
“Ederson required eight stitches and was snapped with a bandage covering the damage to the left side of his face.
“Mane was sent off for serious foul play on Saturday and Liverpool are set to appeal his three-match ban.
“Mane was shown a red card by referee Jon Moss for raising his foot and clashing with Ederson, leaving the Brazilian requiring eight minutes of treatment before he was taken from the field on a stretcher and wearing an oxygen mask.”
Great to see him back in training yesterday.
That’s all for today, more tomorrow…
