Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero has questioned his former manager Pep Guardiola’s decision not to bring on Julián Álvarez against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
The game ended up being a 1-1 draw for Man City (not a bad result to take back for the second leg at home whatsoever) with Kevin De Bruyne having to answer back with a rifled shot after Madrid opened the scoring through an equally impressive rocket from Vinicius Jr.
However, even after City drew level in the 67th minute and had plenty of time to try and grab a winner, Guardiola opted not to make a single change throughout the entirety of the game despite the talent at his disposal — a decision that left many fans scratching their heads.
Sergio Aguero was left wondering the same thing too, as it turns out. Reacting to the stalemate, the club’s all-time leading goalscorer criticised Pep for not only refusing to make a substitution but for failing to pick one player, in particular: Álvarez.
"I don't understand why he (Pep Guardiola) doesn’t put Julian (Alvarez) in. I wonder, but hay, he has Haaland. But again, Pep doesn’t marry anyone.
I would put Julian in almost every game because when the opportunity comes, he'll have a spark"
Aguero thinks Álvarez could make a difference for Pep not just against Madrid, but as a regular starter.
Speaking on the AlbicelesteTalk podcast after the full-time whistle, the now-retired Argentine striker couldn’t help but wonder why the Catalan coach didn’t bring on his fellow countryman to try and score a second which could have proved vital in the tie overall.
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“What I don’t understand is why he didn’t put Julián [on]. I wonder, but well it’s Pep.” The 23-year-old has registered 15 goals and five assists in 44 appearances this season, most of them coming off the bench, and has impressed City fans and neutrals alike almost every time he plays.
Aguero went on to say, “If it was up to me I would play Julián in almost every game because we need him to be active and for him to have a spark,” clearly backing his compatriot to play from the start more regularly. I mean, he has just won a World Cup, to be fair.
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Although Pep hasn’t gone for the overkill of having Haaland and Álvarez on the pitch at the same time too often — and you rarely want to sub someone as inevitable as the Norwegian is — it’s hard to see why he wouldn’t put on fresh legs and another serious attacking threat when trying to win a game.
On the other hand, the 52-year-old is obviously a master tactician and will no doubt have had his reasons, and is certainly no strange to being reserved when it comes to subs. In fact, last year he was among the managers to have made the fewest changes over the course of the season.
With the tie now finely poised for a blockbuster second leg over at the Etihad, City stand a real chance of making it to the final two for the second time in as many years, having been beaten by Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final.
Nevertheless, if the game ends up being another tightly-balanced and tense affair, we imagine Pep will have no problem bringing on Álvarez and other subs once the clock starts ticking down.
Featured Image — Manchester City/Sergio Aguero/Julián Álvarez (via Instagram)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
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Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
10th May 2023 
