IF Pep Guardiola was watching from Bayern Munich’s warm-weather training base in Qatar he would have realised that Manchester City need a few additions to compete at the top table.
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| Pep Guardiola is currently away in Qatar with Bayern Munich |
He is aware that they already have many of the components for a great team in Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.
But their performance last night underlined areas that will need strengthening if City are to match Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and become one of the dominant forces in Europe.
Guardiola, right, will know he needs to make long-term changes to make the difference.
Yaya Toure, who played for him at Barcelona, may still be capable of match-changing moments but the 32-year-old is starting to show his age.
That was evident in the first half when he was caught in possession three times. Guardiola will know about Borussia Dortmund midfield star Ilkay Gundogan, 25, who would be an able replacement.
The German, who will only have one year left on his contract in the summer, is a superb passer, can sit deep and control games, or get forward and win them.
Then there are worries over Vincent Kompany, who was missing again. The City captain would be in anyone’s team but can he stay fit. He has missed more games than he has played this season and his calf problem refuses to go away.
Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala have come under scrutiny in Kompany’s absence and they were given a tough time by Romalu Lukaku. Mangala was eventually replaced by Martin Demichelis.
But Demichelis, 34, is sure to leave at the end of his contract which will intensity City’s need for new defenders. Perhaps John Stones, who again underlined his growing maturity? Also on City’s radar is Athletic Bilbao centre-back Aymeric Laporte, who has a release clause of £37million on a contract that runs until 2019.
At 21, he is thought to be the best young defender in Spain. Indeed, the France Under-21 captain combines physical dominance with a neat touch, and he is mature beyond his years. The full-back positions are definitely areas Guardiola would need to strengthen. Pablo Zabaleta has given magnificent service over the years but is starting to pick up injuries.
Bacary Sagna has done well as Zabaleta’s replacement but is 30 and Guardiola would surely want younger legs there. It is the same on the left where Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov have not let City down. But Guardiola is likely to feel there are better options out there.
Wilfried Bony is unlikely to be Guardiola’s cup of tea and with Sergio Aguero proving injury-prone and Kelechi Iheanacho still raw, a top striker will be on the list.
They could do a lot worse than bid for Lukaku who again impressed as Everton took a slender lead into the second leg.
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