City maintained our 100% start to the new Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Saturday evening.
But with both the Champions League group stages and our Carabao Cup campaign getting under way in September, another busy schedule awaits Pep Guardiola’s men.
That hectic period also emerges with the backdrop of notable injured absentees in the form of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Bernardo Silva in recent weeks.
And Guardiola has once again emphasised the important role that everyone has to play in the opening months of the campaign.
With youngsters Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden both playing starring roles at the Etihad against Newcastle, and four homegrown players on the bench for City, the boss also pointed to the exciting crop of emerging talent he has at his disposal.
He said: “A club for the future, it will be better. We will need everyone for this schedule and calendar.
“We have to come back how the people [City fans] come back. John [Stones] will not be ready until after the international break. Kevin [De Bruyne] four or five months out maybe.
“In this one or two months, the club will have to take some important decisions about the squad because we didn’t expect Kevin’s injury or Riyad [Mahrez] to leave.
“Now we are who we are. There were a lot of young players on the bench today against Newcastle. The difference is that. We are few people but the guys who want to be here, let’s try to do it.
“We already won one title, we are six points from six, score goals and don’t concede many chances against Burnley or against Newcastle.”
The boss was also delighted by the manner in which City handled a difficult assignment against Newcastle.
The visitors had cruised to a 5-1 victory in their opening match of the season, but were limited to just one shot on target at the Etihad Stadium, their joint-lowest return since Eddie Howe’s appointment in November 2021.
Guardiola highlighted several individual performances, heaping praise on his players’ discipline and tenacity both in and out of possession to limit the Magpies’ potential threats.
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“They are an exceptional team. If we give an open game, a transition game, they will destroy us,” the boss added.
“We had to have a lot of control with a lot of passes, that’s why we put a lot of players in the middle to have extra passes and then we’ll find the moment.
“Manu [Akanji] again in a position he has never played in his life, holding midfielder on the left. Rodri with Kova [Mateo Kovacic] and Phil, Julian and Kyle [Walker], offensive and defensive.
“Jack [Grealish], still he we has that brilliance in the final third and we need him in the final third but what can I say when he behaves like that against [Kieran] Trippier and [Miguel] Almiron to help Josko [Gvardiol]. Hats off my friends, I love you so much.
“Rest and go for another one, for another game. When you have that, it’s because the team is so special. Otherwise, we cannot do what we have done for many years. It’s impossible.
“Today amazed me and made me so happy because it’s still okay - we have to do our best every day [and] they have done it. It was really, really good.”
