- Nico Gonzalez has received limited game time
- Pep Guardiola explains why
- He has encouraged the midfielder to learn from Rodri
Nico Gonzalez has seen a lot of the Manchester City bench this season and Pep Guardiola has sought to explain why this continues to be the case.
Manchester City supporters have enjoyed what they have seen from Nico Gonzalez this season. In fact, many would like to see him start more often.
The midfielder is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football since early February and his only start last month came in the FA Cup fifth round against Newcastle.
This puts Nico in a difficult situation, because even though he is playing well, it is still not enough to receive regular minutes.
Pep Guardiola clarifies why Nico Gonzalez is not starting for Man City
Although Pep Guardiola has been impressed by Nico, he has outlined areas where the Spaniard needs to improve.
Despite this, it is due to the level of competition in Man City’s squad that Nico is not starting, rather than his own weaknesses.
“It’s Rodri and Bernardo [Silva],” Guardiola said in his press conference, when asked why Nico does not feature more often.
“Cole Palmer, how incredible a player he is. What a player! But it was Riyad [Mahrez] here, Bernardo, Kevin [De Bruyne] in his prime, [Ilkay] Gundo in the treble season.
“I remember Nico Gonzalez played with Nico O’Reilly in Newcastle to qualify [for the FA Cup quarter-finals]. Nico maybe one of the best performances of the season.
“But Rodri is Rodri. And sometimes you need minutes to become who he is, and Rodri how he played in the [Carabao Cup] final against Arsenal. And Bernardo. So it’s just that,” he continued.
“The contribution from Nico [Gonzalez], he has seen for himself, it’s the best season he’s done so far. Nico is just growing, a lot of things to improve, mentally, how he’s able to get balls, break lines, look forward, many things.”
Guardiola added: “And I think he has to look at Rodri, how he does, he has been the best midfielder in the world – so how can I improve too? Because he’s so young, like Phil [Foden]. They have an incredible margin to improve.”
Nico could start for Man City against Liverpool
Man City’s midfield maestro has had to wait a while since he last started a match for the club. However, this wait could end on Saturday afternoon. After all, Nico has started City’s past two FA Cup matches and he has delivered on both occasions.
Therefore, it could be that the ex-Barcelona star is given the chance to play from the beginning in the quarter-final tie against Liverpool.
This would be a huge opportunity for Nico to impress, as a victory would place Man City just two games away from lifting a second piece of silverware this season.
