What did Guardiola say about Khusanov before the match against Real Madrid?

Abdukadir Khusanov's career at Manchester City is slowly coming to an end. The new championship, any player who moves to another team, needs time to adapt.

The situation in which Josep Guardiola's team found itself required that new players immediately throw themselves into sharp and uncompromising confrontations. Therefore, the Spanish coach decided to immediately give game practice to four players acquired during the winter transfer window.

Only 18-year-old Vitor Reyes played only one half of the FA Cup. It was clear from the very beginning that the young defender needed more time to gain some experience, improve his skills, and adapt to the environment of European football.

Abdukadir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez, and Umar Marmush, who were brought in from European leagues, immediately integrated into the team. They continue to attract the attention of many.

Our 20-year-old legionnaire, after moving to Manchester City, made his name in history as the only Uzbek player to debut in two prestigious competitions - the Premier League and the FA Cup - and even scored his first goal.

Now many, especially all fans from Uzbekistan, are interested in the debut of our defender in the European Champions League for the "city" team.

There is such a possibility, of course. On February 19, the Manchester team will have to play in the second leg of the playoff at Real Madrid as part of the most prestigious competition on the "old continent". Khusanov's performance in the match against Newcastle showed that our compatriot is capable of acting confidently against serious opponents.

Manchester City head coach Josep Guardiola also assessed Abdukadir Khusanov's performance since his arrival in the team.

- In the match with Newcastle, the referee whistled Abdukadir Khusanov two or three times. Because this defender moves very fast in one tackle. It happened because he is still a new player, if he was a famous player like other central defenders, the game would not have been stopped in normal situations.

In fact, when Abdukadir came to the team, it was not easy for him in the first minutes of the match against Chelsea. It is difficult to come here from Uzbekistan or France and immediately play.

Before the match against Newcastle, Ruben Diaz, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake were out of the lineup, so playing in defense fell to Khusanov. It is good for us and for the player himself that he really has the potential we expected.

Abdukadir is a cool and fast player. We saw how quickly he ran in the match against Newcastle when he caught up with the opponent's striker Alexander Isaac. Now he needs to improve his ability to make quick decisions, which is a matter of age.

Most importantly, Khusanov has settled in well with the team, he is a very humble and quiet player. I believe he can help us. Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis are still very young, and Manchester City will develop their game in the coming years and start to participate well in competitions, - said Josep Guardiola.

So, the Manchester City coaching staff has high confidence in Abdukadir Khusanov. In turn, Josep Guardiola is likely to play our compatriot against Real Madrid. Because the problems in the team's defensive line have not yet been completely eliminated.

It is worth noting that Josep Guardiola has been managing the team since 2016. This is the most productive period in the club's history. In particular, the "City" became the champion of England six times under the leadership of the Spanish coach.

Manchester City have won the Premier League for the past four years in a row and are the only team in the history of the English Premier League to win four consecutive titles.

The first half of this season saw a serious crisis in the team's play. Pep Guardiola saw the solution to these problems in the restructuring of the squad. To this end, Manchester City began to bring young and talented players to the team in January. The first was the transfer of Abdukadir Khusanov. Vitor Reis, Umar Marmush and Nico Gonzalez were brought in in a short time.

Manchester City will continue to renew in the summer. Pep Guardiola aims to replace several older players with young, fast, and strong players, with the help of whom they will again compete for prestigious trophies next season. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”