Manchester City: ‘It will be a good lesson’ – Guardiola cheerfully chants Phillips’ weight

Returning overweight from the World Cup in Qatar, Calvin Phillips has only played eight minutes for Manchester City since then. And if his condition seems to be improving from week to week, now he has become the object of chanting from opposing fans, quickly ridiculing his extra pounds. Which rather amuses his coach Pep Guardiola.

“Perhaps this will be a good lesson for Calvin Phillips for the future. I believe that a 12-month-old footballer should be perfect. Even on vacation, it should be perfect. You can enjoy, you can do what you want, but you have to be prepared because the high level is very demanding, the coach explained at a press conference this Sunday. If you want to play matches, you must be in good shape. “When he faced Liverpool on 22 December, he didn’t even put him on the scoresheet before gradually reintegrating him into the group.

“They have a good sense of humor”

In the last game against Chelsea on Thursday, the defensive midfielder was able to come into play late in the game. This earned him remarks from the Blues fans who chanted that he was ‘too big even to play with Leeds, his former club’. “They have a good sense of humor, it was funny,” Guardiola commented. Who could trust Phillips a little more this Sunday (17:30) in a rematch against Chelsea in the third round of the Cup.

Coming to Manchester from Leeds this summer against 54.5 million euros, 27-year-old Phillips, whose ideal weight is estimated at 72 kg, has not yet been able to show all his qualities with Skyblues. Due to a long shoulder injury, he only played 57 minutes since the start of the season. He was still on his feet to leave for Qatar with the three lions, with whom he essentially played the role of a prankster and did not enter the game against France.