Pep Guardiola provides first verdict on Rayan Ait-Nouri after Manchester City debut – Plus Rodri and Juventus admissions | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued his first verdict on the performance of Rayan Ait-Nouri following his full debut for the club this week.

The Algeria international made his first start for his new club after completing a big-money transfer to the Etihad Stadium from Wolverhampton Wanderers last month to reunite with former Molineux teammate Matheus Nunes.

Ait-Nouri follows in the footsteps of close friend and international teammate Riyad Mahrez in wearing the Manchester City shirt as an Algerian national team player, and anywhere near the success established by the former wide attacking star will make him a fan favourite.

That journey began in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday night as Ait-Nouri took up a role as a left-sided wing-back in Manchester City’s defensive system, accompanied by Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Abdukodri Khusanov, and Matheus Nunes on the other flank.

Speaking after Manchester City’s dominant performance and victory against Al Ain in Georgia, manager Pep Guardiola said he was not surprised by the exceptional standard of performance showcased by Rayan Ait-Nouri on his debut for the club.

“We knew it,” the Catalan coach said of the Algerian full-back, who adopted a wing-back role against the UAE-based opposition from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Manchester City manager continued, “A talent, with the final third a lot of talent, defensively, he can play outside, he can play inside, and in the final third he’s so clever! Really good!”

There was also further progress made by Rodri in his road towards making a full recovery from the serious knee injury that ruled him out for the majority of last season, as the Ballon d’Or winner took on another 30 minutes of action on Sunday.

“He cannot play more [than 30 minutes], still in contacts and duels he struggles a little. But it’s normal; an injury of 11 and 12 months, so it’s important he plays much, much better than the previous game, momentum,” Guardiola said of his mainstay defensive midfielder.

He added, “We miss him a lot! The best player in the world, no team he cannot be missed! But step by step he’s coming back.”

Manchester City will round off their FIFA Club World Cup group stage campaign later this week when they take on the most difficult of their three opponents in Juventus at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Having made wholesale changes to his line-up against Al Ain, Guardiola insisted ahead of the clash with the Italian giants, “Everyone is ready and we’re going to pick the best… For sure: 11 new ones are not going to play because we’ve played everyone already!”