Pep Guardiola hails Julian Alvarez as ‘exceptional’ after only seeing ‘clips’ of him before… Erling Haaland’s understudy, he backs the Argentine.

Julian Alvarez joined Man City from River Plate this summer.

Erling Haaland limits his playing time.

Alvarez impressed Pep Guardiola in training.

After not seeing much of Alvarez, he’s surprised by his talent.

Guardiola believes Alvarez will shine as Haaland’s replacement.


Pep Guardiola believes Julian Alvarez can succeed in Erling Haaland’s place.

Alvarez’s £14m arrival from River Plate has flown under the radar given Haaland’s impact.
Guardiola believes his understudy can have a similar impact as the league’s top scorer.
Pep Guardiola has used Julian Alvarez sparingly this season.
Erling Haaland has overshadowed him in recent weeks. ‘I knew him from TV, River Plate clips – I’m surprised how good he is,’ Guardiola said. ‘We’re all impressed by his work ethic and ability as a center forward.

I’m sure we’ll play Julian if Erling doesn’t play.

Alvarez’s substitution helped City come back from two goals down to beat Crystal Palace.

The 22-year-old was key in City’s comeback at Etihad Stadium. City likes Alvarez’s defensive tenacity.

Guardiola thinks Alvarez will shine when he plays more.

Guardiola: ‘He’s always positive and gives everything in training.’ ‘I like such players. His last game involved two goals, so he’s good. Happy! Julian is a star.

Guardiola warned his team to tighten up defensively after falling behind 2-0 for the fourth time in six games.

‘We always score a lot and concede few, but now we’re scoring and conceding a lot, and if we don’t stop that, it will be difficult,’ he said. We can’t always win with four or five goals. If we don’t control transitions and set pieces, we’ll suffer.

“We must avoid it.” In the past, it was hard to come back from a deficit. Now we can do it, but we should avoid it. Risky. One day can’t return.


Recommended