Manuel Akanji
Manuel Akanji was happy with Manchester City’s 3-1 win against Brighton on Saturday, particularly as it involved a VAR call going in City’s favour. Goals from Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne saw City through a tricky match, with Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton playing with a directness and confidence few teams do when visiting the Etihad. City showed quality and grit to make sure they got the three points, something that was important to do after losing to Liverpool last weekend.
Manuel Akanji said: “It wasn’t easy today but in the end it’s the three points that matter. We knew we had to get back with three points against Brighton. In the end we couldn’t keep the clean sheet but hopefully we’ll do it in the next game.”
Akanji was particularly impressed with Haaland, Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne, with all three playing key roles in City’s goals. Haaland’s opener saw the 22-year-old collect a long ball from Ederson and barge his way past Brighton defender Adam Webster. Brighton wanted a foul, but Akanji believes the striker’s natural strength is just too much for many to cope with.
Manuel AKanji said: “[He’s] really strong, I think he’s one of the strongest players I went against. So you really have to stand tall against him. It’s not easy, but we can see game-by-game what he does to the opponents. No! He’s on my team, I hope he does this kind of thing to the other players, I’m happy he scored goals again today, he helped us a lot to get the win today.”
Haaland’s second goal came from the penalty spot, after the VAR recommended that the referee consult the pitchside monitor after Bernardo went down under contact. City fell foul to two VAR calls in their previous two games, but on Saturday things went in their favour.
Manuel Akanji said: “He [Bernardo] got hit on the leg, I’m happy he scored, especially as they [VAR] took the goal away from us last week, and I saw that when Liverpool scored it was a handball. He’s [Bernardo] everywhere on the pitch, he runs everywhere. He’s so good on the ball and also against the ball, even though he’s really small but wins so many duels, he fears nobody, he goes into every duel. He also wins a lot of balls for us and he creates a lot of opportunities in the build-up and also up front, he got the penalty for us.”
De Bruyne then completed the scoring with a fine strike from 25 yards out, and Akanji had one of the best views in the house.
Manuel Akanji said: “We can see game-by-game, all the assists he gives, the impact he has on the games with the balls he plays, and also today the strike was a crazy goal. I was right behind him and I saw how the ball went into the goal. It was a brilliant shot and I’m really happy he scored [to make it] 3-1 for us.”
Next up for City is a trip to Signal Iduna Park to take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, a place familiar to both Akanji and Haaland. With top spot in Group G up for grabs, Akanji is relishing the reunion.
Manuel Akanji said: “It’s a brilliant stadium to play in with the fans they have there, I’m not used to being on the other side, it’s my first time playing against Dortmund there but I’m looking forward to the game. First place in the group [is up for grabs], we want to go there and get the three points.”
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