Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola made it plain that James McAtee still has plenty to learn before he can start to claim a place in his brilliant Blues side. The 19-year-old Salfordian made his Champions League debut as a half-time substitute in the goalless draw with Sporting Lisbon at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola said: “Macca is quite calm and a guy who is in a good direction. But, yeah he got minutes in the second half and he has played previous games. He knows the rhythm. He has the quality but has to understand the position a bit better.”
He went on to make the point that McAtee’s pressing was not quite right at certain points of the game – a crucial part of what City do. Guardiola was delighted with Egan-Riley, who is not a regular member of his first-team squad but stepped up with Kyle Walker suspended and Joao Cancelo ill. He described the 19-year-old Mancunian defender as a seven out of ten performance,
Pep Guardiola added: “CJ doesn’t make mistakes which is so important as a defender. McAtee played well. We should have played the second half like we did in the last four minutes. We didn’t do it, but it’s not easy after 5-0.”
