Pep Guardiola thanked Ferran Torres for filling in as a striker against Marseille despite it not being his natural position.
Pep Guardiola said “Ferran has settled really well. He’s not a striker, I would congratulate him and say thank you for making the effort to play in this position. He scored a goal. It’s not easy as a striker playing a 4-5-1 because there are lots of players there and no space around so honestly it’s not easy. But we don’t have many options. Until Gabriel and Sergio come back we don’t have many so we have an alternative playing Ferran in this position.”
With Torres in the middle, left-footed Phil Foden played on the left and right-footed Sterling on the right to mean that City had more width than they usually do. That also seemed to help the attack against Marseille, although Guardiola was keen not to suggest that this would be a key takeaway from their success against a deep-lying defence with five at the back.
Pep Guardiola said “It’s nice to say but for the third goal Riyad played left foot on the right and his movement inside created space for Kevin, so everyone can play anywhere. Of course on your foot you go more to attack on the byline and maybe in some moments you make the space higher and wider but you can play both so it is not a problem. Today we decide for many reasons but I give an example of Riyad on the right giving a good assist. Both can do it.”
Raheem Sterling was expected to take up the central spot with Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero injured. However, the manager had stressed after the West Ham draw that the No.9 role was not ideal for Sterling either and in Marseille he opted for the 20-year-old Spaniard to lead the line. Torres had scored from the bench in last week’s win over Porto after exchanging passes with Phil Foden but was an unused substitute at the London Stadium. After seeing him net the opening goal in the 3-0 Champions League win, Guardiola is still not convinced that it is the best position to use Torres in but commended him for his effort.
