Earlier today, we’ve covered the front page news from A Bola which says that Manchester City and Manchester United continue to battle for Bruno Fernandes.
Even though the Premier League champions were the first to move for the midfielder, the Portuguese outlet expects the Red Devils to outbid their city rivals.
Now it turns out that Bruno Fernandes has a lot to say about Manchester City, not regarding a transfer, but about Pep Guardiola’s work at the club.
Fernandes has been interviewed by ‘De Cadeirinha’ podcast this week, and claimed to watch a lot of football, especially from English clubs.
“Guardiola has taken the best of the players and put it in the team”, said Fernandes (via Record). “He knew that it was going to be difficult in England and he adapted”.
“It’s a City that plays, more or less, in the way of Barcelona, but not exactly because the league is different, the intensity is different, the aggressiveness is different, the competitiveness is different and he knew how to change it.”
“City, without the ball, have the intensity of the eleven, they can in a moment of pressure put the opponent in a corner, in block, and end up stealing the ball.”
“I like football, regardless of whether it’s good or not. I saw a Chaves vs Setúbal… intense game of fight and duels. I saw City and Liverpool, because I was interested to see who would be the champion. I like to see the good football of City, but also the intensity of Liverpool.”
“I really like Liverpool. It’s a more direct, more offensive, perhaps less organised, but more intense football. When they don’t have ball possession, they are more intense.”
Now if English fans are curious about which players Fernandes compares himself to, he doesn’t seem very humble when naming two Barcelona legends. At least when it comes to passing, he claims he inspires himself to Xavi and Andres Iniesta, both managed by Pep Guardiola in the past.
“I tell my colleagues: the first pass option sometimes isn’t the best. Often there is a movement that doesn’t have to be respected, because it drags players and creates a better space for another teammate. In this, I am like Xavi and Iniesta: we have to make the ball go and not walk with the ball.
“I’m better at passing and deciding than carrying. This wears out the teams. It forces them to run 20, 30 meters to one side, 20, 30 meters to another and after a while there is one or another player who is no longer running, and it opens spaces.”
