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Sports

Man City season ratings with four 9/10s and two 4/10s as Pep Guardiola marked

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Manchester City’s season is over. Pep Guardiola has finally left the club after a decade in charge and gave it his all until the very end as the Blues won both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.

The Champions League was the big disappointment, with a top-eight finish spoiled by a predictable defeat again at the hands of Real Madrid in the last-16. City also fell short in the Premier League, but while they will have regrets over a few matches they will also be happy to have pushed Arsenal into the final week.

City’s players have been marked every match in the Manchester Evening News and readers have had their say as well. Looking back on the campaign as a whole, here is the verdict on how the squad that finished the season in Manchester have fared.

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Donnarumma: Some big saves – with his most notable at Liverpool away – and he steadied the ship at a critical moment when he joined, but he also showed issues with distribution and defending set-pieces as well as picking up far too many yellow cards. 7

Trafford: A frustrating season for him as his return to City didn’t go anything like he expected. The Spurs game was worrying but he shrugged off personal disappointment to play a key role in winning two cups, enhancing his reputation and earning a World Cup spot. 7

Nunes: A year when Nunes finally accepted his role at right-back and improved significantly as a result, becoming one of City’s most consistent and most reliable players. There has been the odd moment but generally Nunes has been very good and City all the better when he plays. 8

Lewis: Started the season with a bang at Wolves and signed a new contract soon after but it was swiftly downhill and hasn’t recovered. His only league start after August was the dismal defeat to United in January before one last game on the final day. 4

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Khusanov: Looked promising as a right-back for a week in September and then went from strength to strength on his return to the team in January. Still a work in progress but there is so much to work with. 8

Dias: Rarely missed a game in the first half of the season, overplayed in part because of his leadership abilities, yet injuries meant he was not seen much after January and he spent the last two months watching Guehi and Khusanov play ahead of him. 6

Stones: A fan favourite, he contributed in the cups but another strange injury meant the trust for Guardiola disappeared and he barely played after the first third of the season. 5

Guehi: Instantly calmed a boat that was rocking when he joined in January. He showed his class and earned rave reviews from Guardiola and coaches but still goes into next season with plenty to prove. 7

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Ake: Another defender who was rarely used, albeit Ake was trusted more than Stones and started some big games such as the Carabao Cup final. He was excellent whenever he played, it just wasn’t enough for his liking or City’s. 6

Alleyne: A crazy season that started at Watford and then saw him parachuted into a Premier League debut after just a day of training. He performed admirably, even if he had a bad week against United and Bodo/Glimt. 6

Gvardiol: Enjoyed most of his playing time at centre-back this season and it seemed to work very well before his season effectively ended with a big injury in January. He showed on his return just how much he adds to the team in both boxes. 7

O’Reilly: After breaking into the team in the FA Cup late last season, O’Reilly looked to barely break sweat as he played his way into being one of City’s best players. He will be a big part of the team’s future. 9

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Ait-Nouri: Did okay in his first season without really commanding a place in the team. He had an injury and was absent with AFCON duty but also found himself shut out by O’Reilly at left-back. 6

Rodri: Too disjointed with injuries at the start of the season but hit his stride between January and April to put City in the driving seat for the title race. His continuing fitness issues should be a concern. 7

Kovacic: One of three choices Guardiola had for the holding role this season, he was injured for far too much of it and City were worse off as a result. 5

Gonzalez: The weirdest season in the squad. When he got injured in early January he had been the most important player and would have earned a 9/10 but the faith in him completely disappeared and some big conversations are now needed this summer. 6

Silva: What a player. What a leader. The wise old head of this new City team, marshalling the midfield and protecting the defence while keeping standards up across the week. A final year to savour for someone ageing like the finest Portuguese wine. 9

Reijnders: A dream debut, and then not enough returns after that. Reijnders seemed to struggle to find his place in a team that itself changed over the season, and he needs to offer more if he wants more game time. 6

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Foden: Similar to Gonzalez and Dias in that he was overplayed and then ended up being underplayed. Foden never stopped trying in the final months but what he has on the pitch at his best wasn’t close to being there. 7

Savinho: Guardiola said at the Club World Cup that he will be a fantastic player once he improves in the final third but how many games can City give him to do that? He got plenty of chances to impress but wasn’t effective enough. 5

Semenyo: A dream start to his City career and finished the season with the winner in the FA Cup final and the last goal of the Guardiola era. Needs to stay sharp in the final third but can play multiple positions and win his team games. 7

Cherki: Fits and starts early on but his consistency and effectiveness grew, and he was exceptional for a month in the run-in. Standout numbers for his first year in English football and he is young enough to get better. 8

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Doku: A terrific year, definitely one of the top City players. He is assisting Haaland more and also winning games on his own, with opposition plans to double mark him allowing him to set O’Reilly free as well. 8

Marmoush: Having been so good when he joined City in the second half of last season, there were very few fond memories of this one. He struggled on the wing and didn’t do enough with the opportunities he did get to put zero pressure on Haaland up front. 4

Haaland: He dropped off badly during the winter months but it does feel like his FORTY-SEVEN goal involvements have been underappreciated. He was unbelievable early in the season and then found his form again for the big games in the run-in. 9

GUARDIOLA: Never before have we had a manager rating but there have been a few requests and he’s leaving so sod it. An ultimately exceptional year that brought the best out of his squad and earned more trophies, but there were a few head-scratching team selections in that pivotal spell in March that proved disastrous to their Champions League and Premier League hopes. 9

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Frank Warren reveals how he scored Usyk vs Verhoeven before the stoppage: “The cards were atrocious”

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Many boxing fans believe Oleksandr Usyk was just a round away from one of the greatest upsets in heavyweight history against Rico Verhoeven, and now Queensberry Promoter Frank Warren has had his say on the fight.

With just one professional boxing bout to his name, Verhoeven was given minimal chance by most people ahead of his unconventional clash with Usyk at the Pyramids of Giza.

The Dutchman soon proved that he needed to be taken seriously, as his style caused issues for Usyk, who struggled to win rounds and looked off the pace throughout.

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Ahead of round 11, it was revealed that two judges had the fight level, whilst one had Verhoeven 96-94 up. In an interview with iFL TV, Warren labelled the scoring as ‘atrocious’, believing the underdog’s performance to have merited a larger margin.

“I actually thought it turned into a really good fight, an enjoyable fight to watch and he was winning it. I had him four or five [rounds] up, I thought that the scoring was atrocious.”

In that penultimate round those scorecards were made redundant, as referee Mark Lyson intervened after Verhoeven eas floored via Usyk uppercut and then put under pressure in the corner.

Continuing, Warren said that a more experienced operator would have given himself some extra time and seen out the round. 

“I think that if he [Verhoeven] had a bit more experience when he went down [he could have survived the round]. I noticed that his gumshield sort of half came out and he got it back in without touching it, he sort of swallowed it back in.

“Anyone with a bit of experience would have spat it out and maybe that would have got him that extra little bit [of time].” 

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Verhoeven has appealled the outcome of the fight, hoping to have the result changed to a ‘no contest’ or force an immediate rematch, though the WBC has confirmed Usyk must have mandatory challenger Shit Kabayel, promoted by Warren, next.

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“We can never imagine” – Vinicius Jr delivers verdict on Lionel Messi and Argentina being favorites at 2026 World Cup

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Brazil forward Vinicius Jr has weighed in on the chances of Lionel Messi and Argentina being contenders to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. La Albiceleste are reigning world champions and will head into the tournament with big expectations.

Lionel Scaloni has yet to name his 26-man squad for the World Cup, with announcement expected to be done in the next 48 hours. And speaking of Argentina’s chances, Vinicius spoke highly of what Lionel Messi and co. can do at the tournament.

The Real Madrid man picked Argentina as one of the favorites to win the World Cup. Being the defending champions will give Argentina great confidence, according to Vinicius.

He also hailed the impact that Lionel Messi will bring to the team. Vinicius admits that the Inter Miami captain always adds something different to his teams and believes that some of the things Lionel Messi does on the pitch is stuff that no one can even imagine.

In an interview on CazeTV (h/t All About Argentina on X), Vinicius commented:

“I’ll pick Argentina too [as one of the favorites of the World Cup], because they were the last champions, they have great confidence and they have Messi.

“He always brings something different, we can never imagine what he might do.”

Argentina are in Group J of the 2026 World Cup alongside Algeria, Jordan and Austria. Vinicius’ Brazil will face Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in Group C.


Scaloni offers update on Lionel Messi’s injury scare before World Cup

During Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia Union, Lionel Messi had to be substituted due to an injury. The Argentine was spotted leaving the pitch while holding the back of his left thigh, which raised doubts over his condition.

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Inter Miami head coach offered an update after the game and now, Lionel Scaloni has also reiterated that the latest update isn’t too bad. The Argentina head coach admitted that he would have preferred if nothing had happened but he feels these things are not within his control.

Scaloni stated in an interview with DSports (h/t Diario AS):

“We were watching the [Miami] match at the [Argentina] training complex. We noticed he asked to come off, that something wasn’t right. The early news isn’t too bad.

“Naturally, we would have preferred nothing had happened at all. Now we have to wait and see how he progresses. Above all, he’ll have more tests, I imagine, to confirm that everything is as they’re saying.”

Scaloni also insisted that he’s hopeful of Lionel Messi and others who are facing such physical setbacks to recover in time and give their best at the World Cup next month.

He added:

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“Of course, we would have liked him to go into [the World Cup] without any issues, but that hasn’t been the case with him or with most of the players who’ve had physical setbacks.

“They’re not fully recovered. Our goal is to get them back to full fitness and make sure they go into [the tournament] in the best possible condition.”

Argentina face Honduras and Iceland in pre-World Cup friendlies before locking horns with Algeria in their opening game.