Man City have lost their flair - but Guardiola's team are showing the fight required to be champions

SPORT

Sergio Aguero celebrates with his team-mates scoring his side's second goal.

Total football - it was not.

Sergio Aguero’s strike that ultimately decided it was a total mess, as far as Burnley were concerned.

It’s safe to assume this is not Pep Guardiola’s vision of Manchester City.

But until the Catalan can get this team playing anything like those he produced at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he will at least be satisfied with their ability to drag themselves over the line.

That was the case at Crystal Palace seven days earlier.

And in the Saturday lunchtime kick off at Turf Moor they needed to show their grit and resilience to overcome Burnley 2-1.

At Selhurst Park it was Toure rolling back the years with both goals in the 2-1 win.

On this occasion it was another veteran of City’s recent glories - Aguero who proved the match-winner.

Aguero nets City's first goal

In that respect Guardiola is following the well-trodden patch of his predecessors Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini.

How many times did they have to turn to that pair to pull City out of the mire?

That’s what world class players do - and as Guardiola experiences his first winter in English football he may find he has to rely on the tried and trusted with increasing regularity over the coming months.

The football that was from another planent in the opening weeks of the campaign has given way to fractious, disjointed displays in recent weeks.

Guardiola’s ever-changing cast of defenders continue to alarm.

Much of the fluid attacking football has deserted them too.

Aguero (left) celebrates with team-mate Nolito after grabbing City's second

Toure’s double against Palace came courtesy of a deflection and a defensive mix up.

Both of Aguero’s goals against Burnley were the result of calamitous defending.

His 37th minute equaliser - after Dean Marney had volleyed Burnley ahead from the edge of the box - came as a result of a goal-mouth scramble. The Argentine eventually poked home from close range when the ball squirmed through to him.

His second was positively cartoonish - Burnley squandering four or five opportunities to clear before Fernandinho’s cross was bundled over the line.

For the second week in succession it was an unconvincing display from Guardiola’s team - with Claudio Bravo having to produce two injury time saves to secure the points.The champagne football that he hopes to bring to City on a consistent basis will have to wait.

The Premier League will be won with fight, as much as flair - and Guardiola is showing he has plenty of that.

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Manchester City and Leo Messi are again sharing headlines with the latest report suggesting confidence in signing one of the best players in the world has 'exploded' at the Etihad.

With the claim earlier this week that the Barcelona star will not sign another contract with the club he has spent his entire career at, City have stepped up their preparations over a potential move.They are willing to pay more than £100m as a transfer fee and pay Messi £500,000-a-week in wages in order to reunite him with Pep Guardiola. Another name not unfamiliar to this column is Juventus defender Alex Sandro.The Brazilian left-back's name has cropped up before in relation to City and City have apparently scouted him in Serie A - but will have to move quickly before he signs a new contract.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City Yaya Toure scores twice but Kompany injured again

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Yaya Toure of Manchester City celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park on November 19, 2016 in London, England.

Yaya Toure made a spectacular return to Manchester City's first team - scoring twice as Pep Guardiola’s side saw off Crystal Palace, writes JAMES ROBSON.

Conor Wickham had threatened to spoil the party with his second half strike that looked like earning the home side a point.

But Toure, whose deflected effort put City in front in the first half, tapped home with seven minutes to go to secure a 2-1 win.

The Ivorian was a shock inclusion - starting his first Premier League game of the season.

And he made an emphatic statement opening the scoring after 39 minutes.

Palace came out with renewed vigour in the second half - piling the pressure on City’s goal while Selhurst Park rocked.

And just seconds after Sergio Aguero came within a whisker of putting the game out of sight Wickham struck.

With City staring down the barrell of a fourth draw in their last five Premier League games, Toure was on hand to tap over the line from six yards.

The one negative for City was another injury blow to Vincent Kompany, who lasted only 37 minutes with suspected concussion.

Micah Richards makes point to Manchester City and England in central in victory over Sunderland

The petulance of Mario Balotelli, storming directly down the tunnel to the Manchester City dressing room after being substituted in the second half, again dominated the soap opera headlines that attend the Premier League champions’ every move but, at the other end of the field, there was a far more significant development for both club and country.

Micah Richards, playing for City for the first time in five months in the centre-half position many feel is his best, turned in the sort of performance that suggested he is an obvious replacement for shamed and recently-retired England defender John Terry.

Persistent question marks remain over Richards’ ability at the very highest level – as the fact he possesses just 13 caps from a near six-year international career testifies – but, at the age of barely 24, he is surely worthy of strong consideration, even allowing for his strange decision to remove his name from the stand-by list for last summer’s European Championship squad.

“I think Micah is a fantastic player and he deserves to be in the national team,” said team mate Pablo Zabaleta. “Micah came back to the team, he was very solid at the back. He is young, he is strong and he can give to England what he gives to Manchester City. He can play either centre back or right back.

“Terry’s not in the international team any more so maybe that is a good chance for him to get into the England team again.”

Richards’ average of a couple of caps per year is all the more mysterious given his versatility and, perhaps, the athletic youngster has been a victim of his own success, considered good at both defensive positions but great at neither by a succession of England managers.

“He can play both positions, centre-back and right-back,” continued Zabaleta. “He’s played before in this position and looking at this season, we probably we have Macion, me and Micah (at right-back) so it’s good too see Micah as a centre-back.

“He’s a very good player, he can play in both positions so for the team its good when you’ve got players who can play in different positions – Micah had a fantastic game today.”

Richards himself declines to discuss his standing with Hodgson and the national squad although, having formed an impenetrable pairing with Joleon Lescott in front of England goalkeeper Joe Hart on Saturday, it is tempting to imagine he can envisage a return to the international fold.

“I was excited to be back out there after being out for so long, me and Joleon haven’t played together too many times,” said Richards. “A lot of people don’t realise how good he is. He’s played for England and he’s a top class centre back. He showed that last season.

“People always say the foreigners make City’s team but we have a good six or seven English lads in the squad. When we come in and get our chance we give 100% and they did that today.”

Richards’ return coincided with City’s first clean sheet of the season – although perhaps it was no coincidence – although the England man was arguably not even the best defender on display. Full-back Aleksandar Kolarov was a force in defence and scored a magnificent fourth-minute direct free-kick before laying on a second goal for Sergio Aguero, whose 55th minute introduction had so infuriated Balotelli.

The Italian forward is clearly becoming an irritant to manager Roberto Mancini and coach David Platt who refused to answer questions properly when quizzed over Balotelli’s show of disrespect as he left the field.

As City proved with last season’s Carlos Tevez debacle, of course, such distractions matter little to the club, given their colossal financial resources and a squad whose depth is unmatched in the Premier League and James Milner’s late direct free-kick completed the rout and their 33rd unbeaten home league game.

Far more worrying have been City’s defensive performances to date and, for this reason, their display in overwhelming a poor Sunderland team that had somehow remained unbeaten until this point, could prove to be significant.

“You always know that when you play against Manchester City you are going to be busy,” said goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, one of the few Black Cats to emerge with credit. “In games like this you want to keep it goalless as long as you can, but by conceding early it meant a tough game got even tougher. After going ahead early City pressed us really high up the pitch and created lots of chances.”

Many more teams look poised to experience the same problem in the weeks to come.

Roberto Mancini's son Andrea joins Spanish third division side Valladolid B

A lot to live up to: Roberto Mancini's son Andrea was released bu Manchester City and now joins Spanish third division side Valladolid 

The 19 year-old was released by the English champions at the end of last season after loan spells at Oldham and Italian side Fano, and has signed a one-year deal with the reserve side of the newly-promoted Primera Division club.

That does mean, though, that Mancini is eligible to play in La Liga should he be called upon, and he is desperate to get his chance to play in the Spanish top flight.

He said: ''It is something very important for me. Valladolid is a good team in the Spanish league and I am going to have to work hard.

''I have to win my chance in the youth team to play in the Primera with Valladolid, but if I work hard I don't see any reason why it can't happen.

''My great-grandmother, who died when I was a child, always told me she was from Valladolid, although I personally don't know the city.

Mancini fighting to keep duo

Man City manager does not want to lose Tevez or Dzeko

Edin Dzeko: Linked with a move away from Man City but Roberto Mancini hopes he will stay

Sky Bet

• Roberto Mancini has admitted it will not be easy to keep hold of Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko, but he hopes the duo will stay at Manchester City.

Tevez's future has been the subject of intense speculation since last summer and he has again been linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium during the transfer window, although last week he stated that he is feeling settled at City.

Fellow striker Dzeko has also reportedly attracted the attention of clubs such as Juventus and Bayern Munich, but Mancini has made it clear that he has no intention of letting either player leave.

Mancini's focus is on strengthening his squad rather than weakening it, as he accepts that City need to improve to compete with Europe's finest.

"Both Dzeko and Tevez will stay at City. We are a great team and we try to keep all our great players," said the Italian.

"It won't be easy, but they will stay here.

"We still lack a couple of players to reach (the level of) Real Madrid and Barcelona. Our mentality has to grow season by season.
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