Focus on the basics to get back on track, says Reijnders

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Manchester City F.C.

·23. Januar 2026

Focus on the basics to get back on track, says Reijnders

Tijjani Reijnders says City’s full focus is on getting back to winning ways.

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We’ve lost our last two outings and won just two of our seven matches in January so far across all competitions.

Despite that, we’re still well placed in the Premier League and in with a shout of automatic progress to the Round of 16 in the Champions League.

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Meanwhile, we’re into the fourth round of the FA Cup and ahead after the first leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final tie with Newcastle United.

Speaking ahead of this Saturday’s visit of Wolves, Reijnders says the squad are eyeing the three points above all else this weekend.

“We have to do the basics right and win games – it’s the most important thing and where you get the energy from. I’m sure that we will get there,” he said.

“We have a lot of qualities in our team. What we showed at the end of 2025 with our streak – we can do that again.

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“We’ve lost a bit of momentum but I’m pretty sure we will get it back as quick as possible.”

Our last Premier League clash saw us go down 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 198th Manchester derby.

Reijnders insists everyone at the club felt the fan’s pain after that one, but that all we can do now is put it behind us.

“We were devastated – you want to win every derby. We didn’t see it coming how we lost like this,” he said.

“We have to keep the confidence in ourselves – luckily, we play every three days and now we have to be ready for our next game against Wolves. We have to keep going.”

The Dutch midfielder underwent a major personal change in 2025, moving from Milan to Manchester and from Serie A to the Premier League.

On the pitch he’s taken well to the transition, contributing six goals and seven assists in his 32 competitive appearances so far this season.

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Off the pitch, he says the City squad have done everything possible to help him adapt.

“From the beginning it’s been very nice,” he said.

“They’ve helped me directly – made me feel at home pretty quickly and made sure I could adapt as quick as possible to the team.

“They gave me a great feeling. Nathan Ake helped me the most because he’s my Dutch friend – when I had questions, I always asked him.

“But beside him, the captains helped me a lot as well. They helped me a lot and made me feel comfortable.”

Having shone in Dutch and Italian football before last summer’s move to England, Reijnders has experience of some of the toughest leagues in Europe.

However, he says there’s one key difference between the Premier League and the likes of Eredivisie and Serie A.

“The physicality and the intensity is always 100 per cent. You never have rest in the game. You have to be ready every time you receive the ball,” he stated.