MX23RW : Monday, November 25 17:13:25| >> :60:2608:2608:

Pep Guardiola: 'Man City have goals all over the pitch'

City have been without their record goalscorer Sergio Aguero for much of the season.

Pep Guardiola is confident Manchester City have the firepower to make up for a lack of goals from their frontline strikers.

City have been without their record goalscorer Sergio Aguero for much of the season, with a combination of injuries and self-isolation restricting the Argentinian to just three starts and two goals.

His natural replacement Gabriel Jesus has also been short of form and fitness this term, and has scored just six times, after injury problems of his own and a spell out with coronavirus.

Aguero has been limited to just three starts this season
Sergio Aguero has been limited to just three starts this season (Clive Brunskill/PA)

That has left manager Guardiola needing to find alternative solutions, such as deploying winger Ferran Torres as a makeshift centre-forward or playing any of a number of midfielders as a 'false nine'.

It may not be ideal but, with City currently on a club-record 12-game winning run in all competitions, the back-up plans are proving effective.

Guardiola said: "Normally when you are on top of the league or winning titles you have one or two top, top scorers. Now we don't have it and I don't know if we will have it.

"Sergio will be back hopefully soon but the numbers of Gabriel in the Premier League are not much goals.

"What will help us to still be there is the way we are going to play. If you dream that the striker is going to solve our problems, we are not going to win the games.

Ferran Torres (right) has played some games at centre forward
Ferran Torres (right) has played some games at centre-forward (Tim Keeton/PA)

"Our game, the way we play, is, in the way we defend – concede few chances, concede no goals; and the way we create – Rash (Sterling), Riyad (Mahrez), Gabriel, Bernardo (Silva), (Ilkay) Gundogan, Phil (Foden), Ferran (Torres) have the chance to score a goal. This is the way we have this season.

"We don't have a guy who dribbles through players to score a goal every day. It's difficult to find one player to score two goals in one game.

"We don't have this specific quality so we have to go as a team to play good and this is our target until the end of the season."

Another of the keys to City's success this season has been their improvement in defence.

Ruben Dias has impressed since his arrival from Benfica
Ruben Dias has impressed since his arrival from Benfica (Martin Rickett/PA)

With summer signing Ruben Dias an influential addition, City have kept clean sheets in 11 of their last 13 Premier League games.

Guardiola, who takes his team to Burnley on Wednesday, said: "The biggest difference right now is defensively, when we are in the box, we are more calm and we don't make mistakes.

"This is the biggest improvement we have done this season compared with previous seasons. The way we play, concede chances, create chances – is quite similar."

Aguero is now back in training after his quarantine but Guardiola expects it to be "a few weeks" before he returns to the side.

ID:433477: cacheID:433477:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8347:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Burnley manager Sean Dyche pictured on January 24, 2021
Read Next:
Sean Dyche not concerned about lack of investment in transfer market
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!