Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed new signing Abdukodir Khusanov to bounce back, after the defender made a terrible start to life in English football in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Chelsea.
The 20-year old was signed earlier in the week and was thrown straight into league action alongside Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush, but struggled to impress on his debut. He gave the ball away for the Blues opener inside the first five minutes, before being booked a minute later for a foul on Cole Palmer.
“Well, what I thought is not the best start, right? He will take a lesson. He’s so young, he’s come for many years. It’s not the best start of course, but dealing with [Nicolas] Jackson, with Cole ]Palmer], with all these incredible players is not easy.
He will learn. He’s young, he will learn, I’m pretty sure. Take a lesson from that”, Guardiola said.
The former Lens defender who is ineligible to play in the UEFA Champions League, only started because of injuries to Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, with John Stones needing to rest ahead of Wednesday’s crucial match against Club Brugge, and was substituted early in the second half on a disappointing debut.
“I have to learn Russian or Uzbek to communicate with him [Khusanov]. He doesn’t speak fluently in English. In this kind of situation, there’s nothing much to say. He knows he made a mistake.
What can I say? Don’t do a mistake? He doesn’t want to do it, so we know that” he added.
“I make a substitution mainly for the yellow card, not just for the mistake. I need John for Wednesday.”
The Cityzens bounced back from their torrid start, with goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, securing a convincing 3-1 win to move them back into the top four.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
