Man City have now lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the final match of the Asian Tour. Former City goalkeeper David James, however, was not too worried.
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It will be extremely hard for Manchester City to replicate their impressive form from last season. Pep Guardiola’s side had won a historic treble and sent their fan base into a frenzy. After winning a hard-fought Premier League title race over Arsenal, City won the FA Cup, beating neighbours and rivals Manchester United in the final. They followed it by winning the biggest of them all – Champions League crown by beating Inter Milan in the final.
The supporters would want a repeat of the same, however, it will not be easy for Manchester City to replicate that form. Add to it, they have now lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the final match of the Asian Tour. Former City goalkeeper David James, however, was not too worried when reacting to that setback on the post-match section of Matchday Live. “Of course you want to win – charity matches, friendlies, you always want to win them,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
“That said, we weren’t up against a sub-standard team – Atletico Madrid habitually finish in the top three of La Liga and have some very good players and give them half a chance, they will punish you – which they did. Their substitutions worked better for then whereas our changes disrupted our rhythm. So yes, the players will be disappointed to lose because they are winners – but it is pre-season, and that disappointment shouldn’t last long at all. Now the focus will be on Arsenal and when you are playing at Wembley for a trophy, things are very different and I’m sure Pep has a plan for that game and for the whole season.”
Despite the loss, Manchester City women skipper Steph Houghton is looking to take the positives from the game. “I think they will be disappointed because knowing that group of players, they will want to win every game because that’s the culture and the standard they’ve set over these last few seasons. But you have to look beyond the result because a lot of the players now have more minutes in their legs,” she started.
“Ruben Dias and Julian Alvarez played 90 minutes which is good because it was very humid and hot in Seoul, but they were up against a very good Atletico Madrid side who were very competitive, physical, and organised. It’s not always the best thing to sail through pre-season, win all the games and peak too soon – there is a reality of understanding and accepting that, ‘ok, this is where we are right now – let’s get back to Manchester and start preparing for the Community Shield’.”
Manchester City had to work extremely hard to win the Premier League title last season. It was largely due to the tough fight Arsenal had provided them, which Houghton feels will be the case once again. “I think Arsenal will be City’s toughest opponent this season and they’ve strengthened well with players like Declan Rice coming in, so I think they will be better, and they will have that experience of a title race under their belts. But I still fully believe in this City team because we are also only going to get better, and our younger players now have the experience of winning three major trophies under intense pressure,” she added.
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