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

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

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

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

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

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

Optus Stadium will play host to Sunday’s
Round 12 AFL game between West Coast Eagles and
Essendon Bombers. The game kicks off at 7:20 pm with West Coast Eagles heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the West Coast Eagles vs.
Essendon Bombers
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Sunday May 31, 2026 at 7:20 pm

Where: Optus Stadium

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

West Coast Eagles vs Essendon Bombers Odds

West Coast Eagles vs Essendon Bombers Preview

Fresh off the departure of Brad Scott as head coach after one win from its last 24 matches, Essendon will travel across the Nullarbor to take on West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday night. The Bombers dropped to 18th on the ladder following last Friday’s disastrous 74-56 loss to a severely depleted Richmond side that had entered Round 11 with just one win for the season. Elsewhere, West Coast backed up its shock victory over GWS in its previous home fixture by taking it right up to Collingwood in Scott Pendlebury’s record-breaking 433rd AFL appearance before eventually falling 92-82 at the MCG. Essendon has had the better of West Coast in recent seasons, winning each of the past five meetings between the clubs, including a tight 77-75 result at Optus Stadium in Round 6 last year. However, the currently sidelined Peter Wright kicked six of the Bombers’ 11 goals in that match.

Filip Hrgovic looks set to be the next man to test Moses Itauma, who is looking to capture world honours as soon as possible and prove that he is the future of the heavyweight division.

Itauma continues to blitz his way through the ranks, now finding himself well and truly in contention for a heavyweight belt despite not fighting beyond the sixth round in his 14-fight career.

Before the 21-year-old Brit fights for a title – which promoter Frank Warren expects to come by the end of this year – he headlines the O2 Arena on August 8 and Hrgovic is expected to be awaiting him in the opposing corner. A Rio 2016 bronze medallist with designs on a world title himself, and his only pro defeat coming at the hands of reigning WBO champion, Daniel Dubois, the Croatian has vowed to stop Itauma in his tracks.

Speaking to Boxing News, top trainer Peter Fury looked ahead to the fight, but warned that Hrgovic, who stopped Dave Allen inside three rounds earlier this month, is well capable of exposing Itauma, ‘if he is not the real deal’.

“I think that it is a great step for Moses, I think they are bringing him on well. You know, Hrgovic said the right thing, he said, ‘We will see. He could be the next second coming in the heavyweight division – and he could not’. 

“This is a fight that is winnable, but Hrgovic will test him because if he is not the real deal, Hrgovic will find it [out]. It is a good fight at this stage and I think that they are bringing young Moses Itauma on very well.”

An announcement is anticipated soon for Itauma’s August outing, as he headlines an event for the third consecutive occasion and for the first time in the UK capital. Both fighters have confirmed that they want the fight, and it seems only an injury or cut not healing in time will prevent Hrgovic from taking it.

The upper echelon of the heavyweight division will continue to take shape this summer after it was officially announced that Murat Gassiev and Tony Yoka are set to do battle.

Former cruiserweight world champion Gassiev won the WBA Regular heavyweight title back in December with a sixth round stoppage win over Kubrat Pulev, and had been linked to make a defence of that belt against rising star Moses Itauma.

Instead, he will now meet Olympic gold medallist Yoka, who had due to compete last month until planned opponent Lawrence Okolie was forced to pull out after a failed drugs test, with the Frenchman now given a chance to challenge for a version of the world title.

Gassiev and Yoka will meet at the VTB Arena in Moscow on July 11, and the Russian is expecting a difficult challenge but remains confident of success.

“Tony Yoka is an Olympic Champion. He is a big, strong, experienced boxer with a solid amateur background. He is an Olympic champion, and this definitely won’t be an easy fight. That said, I believe I have a greater desire to retain my title and to beat him.”

Yoka is trained by Don Charles, who recently guided Daniel Dubois back to the world heavyweight title, and the 34-year-old believes that will be pivotal in the match-up with Gassiev.

“I’m going to win this world title for all my people in France and Congo that have not only stuck with me, but still believe in me becoming a professional world champion.

“I’ve been working hard for over two years now with Don Charles and I’m ready to showcase to the boxing world the changes in my professional boxing.”

With unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk seemingly nearing the end of his career, the winner of July’s bout may place themselves in a good position to potentially be upgraded to full WBA champion at some stage in the future.

Last month, Richardson Hitchins made the decision to vacate the IBF super-lightweight world title, leaving the door open for another contender to become champion.

Hitchins decisioned Liam Paro to get his hands in the IBF strap back in December 2024 but made just one defence of the belt last year, knocking out former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr in a dominant display.

However, last month, Hitchins announced that he would be relinquishing the belt ahead of a move to both the welterweight division and Zuffa Boxing.

Today, at the IBF’s 41st Annual Convention, in Vietnam, it was unveiled that the number one contender and Hitchins’ former mandatory challenger, Lindolfo Delgado (24-0, 16 KOs), will take on Canadian-Russian Arthur Biyarslanov (21-0, 17 KOs) in an intriguing vacant title bout between two undefeated bogeymen. 

Mexico’s Delgado defeated Gabriel Gollaz Venezuela via split-decision last time in November, but was ordered for a challenge for Hitchins’ title in February.

Meanwhile, Biyarslanov, known as ‘The Wolf’, claimed the NABF super-lightweight title back in June 2024, and the 31-year-old has kept active by making five defences of the belt since, including triumphs over former world champions Mohamed Mimoune and Sergey Lipinets.

Biyarslanov sits at #5 in the IBF rankings, but it is understood that both Oscar Duarte (#3) and Keyshawn Davis (#4) turned the title opportunity down, with both men having fought and won earlier this month.

Barcelona have agreed a deal with Newcastle United to sign winger Anthony Gordon this summer.

Gordon’s future at the North East club has looked in doubt for some time with Eddie Howe repeatedly fielding questions over the winger’s commitment to the club and it now looks like Gordon will be heading to La Liga next season.

Sky Sports News say that an agreement has been made between both clubs over a £70m plus bonuses move amid interest from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Talks moved to an advanced stage on Wednesday with Barcelona’s offer hitting Newcastle’s valuation and the structure of the deal was discussed with the Spanish giants wanting to spread out the payment.

Gordon, meanwhile, is said to favour the move despite finishing the season as Newcastle’s leading goalscorer. He had previously signed a long-term deal with the club which still has four years left to run.

However, the winger played no part in any of Newcastle’s final four games of the season as speculation over a summer exit continued to grow. He has reportedly agreed personal terms with the Spanish side as well.

Newcastle’s finances are such that CEO David Hopkinson had previously revealed they would probably need to sell players to re-invest in the summer transfer window.

Gordon was called up to Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man World Cup selection earlier this month and will want to head to the tournament with his future confirmed.

He has made 152 appearances for Newcastle since joining the club from Everton in January 2023 for an initial fee of £40m.