Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Ferran Torres’ performance in the aftermath of our 3-0 Champions League win in Marseille.
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The 20-year-old, signed in the summer from Valencia, played as a central striker in France, a change from his usual wide position.
But he was superb throughout, scoring City’s opener and providing a constant threat with his pace and quick feet.
Guardiola says he has adapted to life at City quickly and believes he showed selflessness to play in an unfamiliar role in difficult circumstances against Marseille’s back five.
“He has settled really well,” he said. “Ferran is not a striker. I would congratulate him for making the effort to play in this position.
“He scored the goal. It is not easy as a striker against five defenders.
“We don’t have many options until Sergio and Gabriel come back, so we had an alternative playing Ferran in this position.”
City are now three points clear at the top of Group C having won both our matches so far.
It’s a fine start to the campaign, with two difficult assignments negotiated with relative ease.
It puts us in a strong position to qualify with games to spare, something Guardiola would welcome given our hectic fixture schedule.
He was delighted with the application and professionalism of his players in France – but says it’s no different to what he has seen since arriving in Manchester in the summer of 2016.
“Our application is exceptional from the first day I have been in this club,” he said.
“Sometimes the opponents are better than us, that is life.
