- Nico O’Reilly praises Pep Guardola
- Delighted by opportunity to play with freedom
- Backs Man City to win Premier league
Nico O’Reilly has explained why he owes gratitude to Pep Guardiola after a fantastic season with Manchester City.
It has been an excellent campaign for Nico O’Reilly, with the 21-year-old breaking into Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up.
O’Reilly has been making a huge impact, whether he lines up alongside Bernardo Silva and Rodri in midfield, or on the left flank behind Jeremy Doku.
The England international has been able to showcase his talents and that is all thanks to one man in particular.
Nico O’Reilly heaps praise on Pep Guardiola
Speaking with Sky Sports News, O’Reilly has explained how important it is for him to be able to do what he does best.
“I like to play with freedom, play with confidence, and just show my abilities,” the defender said.
Crediting his manager, O’Reilly added: “He [Pep Guardiola] just lets me go and play my game, and he has trust in me, and I think that’s the most important thing.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and been part of, but the way I see it is it’s just another game, another day. I’ve been playing all my life for these situations and opportunities, so why let the occasion get the better of me now? Just go out there and play with freedom, confidence.”
O’Reilly says Man City are confident in Premier League title race
There is a Premier League title race ongoing and O’Reilly has branded his team ‘confident’ ahead of their final games of the season.
City have already beaten some top teams in recent weeks, including Arsenal. Therefore, there is hope that this will be the year they reclaim the league trophy.
“We’re confident within ourselves, within the team, we know how good we are,” O’Reilly continued.
“We’ve had plenty of players in this situation before, the leaders, and they help us out a lot. We’re just confident now for the last few weeks, some difficult games coming up, and it can go down to the wire. We’ll see what happens.
“We just need to go out there, try and win every game, play our best football, and score as many as we can – and hopefully we’ll win the league.”
Winning the domestic treble would be a novelty for O’Reilly
Man City have already won a lot of trophies in recent years, but many players in the squad were not around to experience previous successes.
Indeed, O’Reilly only made his senior debut in August 2024, meaning last month’s Carabao Cup victory was his first major trophy triumph with the club.
Therefore, winning both the Premier League and FA Cup this season would be a surreal achievement which the youngster would never forget.
And with his significant contributions in the Carabao Cup final, it is likely that O’Reilly will have another key role to play in the race for the title.
