Pep Guardiola quipped that James McAtee is “lovable” after the teenager netted his first Manchester Metropolis objective.
McAtee, who has spent many of the previous two seasons on mortgage at Sheffield United, got here on from the bench to attain Metropolis’s fourth of their 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.
It was McAtee’s second look within the Champions League, two years and 206 days since his debut within the competitors – that’s the longest hole between a Man Metropolis participant’s first and second outing within the competitors.
“We’re so pleased with him, he’s lovable, and all the fellows love him,” Guardiola stated of the 21-year-old Metropolis academy graduate.
“McAtee moved rather well in small areas, made a incredible objective, had one other likelihood, and for him will likely be an excellent enhance, we wish to make him really feel he’s a part of that group.”
Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for Metropolis within the eighth minute, with Phil Foden netting a second earlier than Erling Haaland made it 3-0.
“The group of gamers are incredible, we performed an excellent recreation, loads of probabilities and the primary three factors of the competitors,” stated Guardiola, whose workforce had been held to a goalless draw by Inter of their opening match.
“Win your video games it is going to be sufficient. We obtained the primary victory to [move up] the desk somewhat bit greater than we had been, so it’s good.”
4 – Manchester Metropolis have now received 13 UEFA Champions League video games by a margin of 4+ targets below Pep Guardiola, probably the most by a supervisor with the identical workforce within the competitors (overtaking Alex Ferguson’s 12 with Manchester United). Dominance. #UCL pic.twitter.com/3suN9Bw1xW
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 1, 2024
Since his debut within the competitors for Metropolis in September 2022, Erling Haaland has scored extra targets within the Champions League than some other participant, netting 19 targets in simply 22 appearances for the Residents.
Foden, in the meantime, is one in all 4 gamers to have scored in every of the final seven Champions League campaigns (since 2018-19) together with Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.
And Guardiola thought final 12 months’s Premier League Participant of the Yr was way more like himself after a sluggish begin to the season from his perspective.
“Made a incredible objective, simply handed the ball to the put up, all the time I say ‘Cross the ball to the put up, not shoot, and also you’ll have extra probabilities’,” Guardiola stated.
“Step-by-step, it’s coming again.”
Metropolis are actually unbeaten in every of their final 25 Champions League video games (W17 D8), the joint-longest run with out defeat in European Cup/UEFA Champions historical past, stage with Manchester United between September 2007 and Could 2009.
