Mateo Kovacic has revealed what he is expecting of every Manchester City player in the absence of 19-goal striker Erling Haaland.
The top scorer for the reigning champions, who is currently recovering from a stress fracture in his foot, was not available for Sunday’s hard-fought 2-1 victory over Luton. Despite this setback, Kovacic is optimistic about the team’s chances of winning games if each player steps up their game.
The reigning champions secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Luton on Sunday but were without their injured top scorer, who is currently nursing a stress fracture in his foot. However, Kovacic is not too concerned, as he believes that the squad has the potential to keep winning matches if every individual raises their level of play in the absence of key players.
WHAT KOVACIC SAID
Speaking to reporters, Kovacic said: “Obviously, we missed key players like Erling and Kevin [De Bruyne]. It’s never easy when you miss such big players.
“But they are not in the moment here, we need everybody to give 10, 20 percent more like we did (on Sunday) and then we can win games.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The victory against Luton ended City’s four-match winless streak in the Premier League, which included draws against Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and a loss against Aston Villa. In the absence of Haaland, De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku – Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish played pivotal roles in the turnaround at Kenilworth Park, scoring in the second half to secure the much-needed victory. “The team was confident because we were playing good,” said Kovacic. “We had not bad results, some draws where we could have won. This is football sometimes, then it’s about how you come back. Today we came back in a good way. A big three points. We showed overall great football, especially in the first half we played very well, we found a lot of players in the pockets which is what we want. When you do your thing and insist, the goals come. We could have scored even more, but I’m happy with the three points.”
DID YOU KNOW?
There have been suggestions that Haaland might be staring at a lengthy period on the sidelines as Alf Inge Haaland sold his son in the Fantasy Premier League.
WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?
Pep Guardiola might be looking to rest his key players when they take on Red Star in the Champions League as they have already qualified for the knockout stage as group leaders. All eyes will be on their next Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, as a win over the Londoners could bring them to within a point of league leaders Liverpool, with the teams above them not playing until Sunday.
