Here are the Manchester City evening headlines for Monday, November 23.
Dias admits City ‘need to do better’ after Spurs defeat
Ruben Dias has called on his Manchester City teammates to “do better” after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat against Tottenham.
The focus of the criticism in the aftermath of the loss has been on City’s stunted attack, with just 10 goals scored in eight Premier League games.
And summer signing Dias has insisted the team need to improve collectively to address the issue.
“The same way we all defend, all of us attack,” he said. “It's not a matter of having creative players at the front and leave it all up to them. It's an issue for the whole team and we all need to do better.
“We were in dangerous zones but many times we didn’t go through with the final moment. A goal would have changed the game and we ended up conceding right at the end. The last goal changed the game. We need to do better.”
City chief told to forget Messi transfer
Manchester City have been told Barcelona star Lionel Messi will not be leaving the club.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner was heavily linked with a move to the Etihad in the summer after handing in a transfer request at the Camp Nou.
But Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font has issued a hands-off warning to City chief executive Ferran Soriano.
“I already told him (Soriano) to forget about Messi, to look for alternatives to win the Champions League, because Messi will continue with us and we will win the Champions League,” he told L'Esportiu de Catalunya.
Opinion: Guardiola contract further raises expectations at City
Pep Guardiola’s new two-year deal means there can no longer be any talk of an era coming to an end at Manchester City writes Simon Bajkowski.
The extension of the manager’s stay at the Etihad will inevitably raise expectations, but it will also provide fresh impetus to address the problems that have emerged this season.
With talk of a need for attacking reinforcements and a tweak to the system, Guardiola will no doubt be hard at work in the coming weeks to ensure his side continue to challenge for silverware.
The new contract is good news for City, not least because the timing of it could help kickstart a season that has begun sluggishly.
