- Man City’s second string midfield got their chance against Southampton
- Each player impressed Pep Guardiola
- Manager dished out lots of praise after win
Pep Guardiola has revealed why he was so impressed with two of his Manchester City midfielders after their victory over Southampton.
Man City were not supposed to struggle against Southampton, but they proved to be a tough opponent on Saturday evening.
It even looked like the Saints might seal a victory after scoring with little more than 10 minutes left to play.
However, Jeremy Doku and Nico Gonzalez each landed on the scoresheet in the closing stages of the game.
Nico delivered a solid performance on the night, and he was not the only midfielder to impress Pep Guardiola.
Tijjani Reijnders and Mateo Kovacic receive praise from Pep Guardiola
Although Nico was the player who scored, Guardiola was very pleased by what he saw from Tijjani Reijnders and Mateo Kovacic.
Both players could have been expected to be a little rusty due to their lack of minutes, especially Kovacic considering his lengthy spell on the sidelines. Nevertheless, they helped push City towards victory.
Guardiola told Match of the Day: “I said I wanted to kill him [Reijnders] because of how good he played, that is what I said!
“But Tijjani is another guy who hasn’t played in the last games and played really good [today], two or three chances, Kovacic the same. He made a really good [game], but at 1-1 I wanted a player more positional.”
Man City have a decision to make on Kovacic
Now 31, Kovacic is the same age as Bernardo Silva and his Man City contract is set to expire next summer.
Therefore, Guardiola and the club hierarchy need to decide whether it is in the best interests of the club to tie the Croat down to a new contract.
Kovacic has missed most of the season due to an ankle injury and in truth, Man City have managed to turn things around without him.
This means there needs to be a conversation about whether he has a long-term future at the Etihad Stadium. It will be interesting to see what happens if he continues to play well for what remains of this season.
Reijnders’ future is also uncertain
While Reijnders has been available far more than Kovacic, his starts have been few and far between throughout the campaign.
The Dutchman is a good midfielder, but at 27 years old he will be wanting to play as many matches as possible.
City will be wary of allowing too many players to follow Silva out the door, especially as Rodri has been linked with an exit.
Therefore, it seems likely that the club would not be in favour of Reijnders moving elsewhere. Still, if he is unhappy, everything become more difficult.
