MANCHESTER, England: Kyle Walker is set to have only limited game time at Manchester City for the rest of the season because manager Pep Guardiola said the England right back is ill-equipped to play in the team’s new system.
Guardiola has been playing a three-man defense, pushing one of the full backs in a central-midfield role alongside Rodri. That has been John Stones in recent weeks, meaning Walker — who isn’t as technically strong on the ball — has mostly been a substitute despite being a key member of City’s success in recent years.
“He cannot do it,” Guardiola said of Walker playing as an inverted full back. “He will always have pace. He will be the fastest in this room at 60 years old. To play inside, you have to make some educated movements. He has other characteristics.
“He has played as a full back coming inside in the past with four in the back, with Joao (Cancelo) or Aleks (Zinchenko) in that position, and Kyle has done it really well. But with this shape of three in the back and two in the middle, he cannot do it ... he will maybe need time to do it and we don’t have time.”
The 32-year-old Walker, who is in his sixth season at City, had looked like he would benefit from the departure of Cancelo to Bayern Munich in January but that hasn’t been the case.
Asked what Walker needed to do to earn his place back, Guardiola said: “Be himself. Train good, he can play in the three, three at the back on the right, and is maybe the best that we have. Sometimes we play with Manu (Akanji) or John. The reason why is tactical. It’s not because we lost faith in Kyle.”
The 28-year-old Stones has sometimes struggled when asked to push forward into midfield, but now he looks at home.
“Our shape was completely different when we tried it before and that was maybe why he struggled more,” Guardiola said. “Now we practice more, he knows more, our routine is a little better and that’s why we can use him.
“It is a new position for him and he has to concentrate all the time. When you play as a central defender or in other position, when you see the game from behind, it is completely different to when you are in the middle surrounded. Some movements and patterns are more difficult. That’s why I appreciate a lot what he has done.”
Guardiola says Walker cannot play in City’s current system
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Guardiola says Walker cannot play in City’s current system
- Guardiola has been playing a three-man defense, pushing one of the full backs in a central-midfield role alongside Rodri
- “He cannot do it,” Guardiola said of Walker playing as an inverted full back
Real Madrid face Man City, PSG draw Chelsea in Champions League last 16
- This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012
- Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray
PARIS: Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.
The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before traveling to England for the return the following week.
The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.
That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarterfinals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semifinals in 2022 with City winning at the same stage the following year.
PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.
The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarterfinals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.
Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.
“The draw is fascinating, as usual,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions.”
Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as coach of Strasbourg.
- Arsenal face Leverkusen, Newcastle play Barcelona -
There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. None will play each other in the last 16 but there are two potential all-English quarterfinals.
Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.
The winner of that tie will play either PSG or Chelsea in the quarterfinals, meaning there is a chance Liverpool will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat by the Parisians on penalties a year ago.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St. James’ Park — the Spanish side won 2-1 there during the league phase in September.
Barcelona’s only other possible opponents were holders PSG, but their coach Hansi Flick insisted: “We are not celebrating not getting PSG. We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League.”
Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid, with the winners of that tie then facing Newcastle or Barcelona in the last eight.
Arsenal, who finished first in the league phase, will come up against Bayer Leverkusen and if they win that would then be huge favorites in a quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting of Portugal.
The last-16 meeting with Sporting is the Norwegian upstarts’ reward for knocking out last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan in the play-offs.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes described Arsenal as “perhaps the top favorite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League. Everything has to go right, but then we’re capable of making life difficult for them.”
German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition.
The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later. The teams who qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.
This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.
