Manchester City stars ignoring criticism, says Jeremy Doku
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was under fire after seven winless games, but a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest has eased the pressure a little.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Jeremy Doku has said that Manchester City’s players are content to stay in their “bubble”, ignoring outside criticism as they focus their energies on reigniting their English Premier League title challenge.
The champions finally lifted some of the gloom at the Etihad Stadium as they swept Nottingham Forest aside 3-0
Currently lying in fourth place and nine points behind leaders Liverpool, they next travel to Crystal Palace on Dec 7.
Four straight defeats in the Premier League, during a winless run of seven games in all competitions, raised major doubts over their ability to defend their crown.
However, Belgium international Doku, who scored the third goal against Forest, said City’s players have shut out the noise.
“At the end of the day, when everything goes well they’re going to hype you up,” the winger said.
“When everything goes bad, you’re the worst. We don’t listen, we concentrate on ourselves in our bubble. We know together, we’ll be stronger. They can say whatever they want. We just stay in our bubble, and we’re still in December.
“If they think it’s over, let them think it’s over. We are going to look game by game, try to win as much as possible, and we will see at the end.”
With Kevin de Bruyne starting his first game since September after returning to full fitness, City looked like a side rejuvenated from the one battered by both Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in recent weeks.
De Bruyne, instrumental throughout, set up the early opener for Bernardo Silva with a powerful header and then doubled the lead himself after good work by his compatriot Doku.
The playmaker could again play a big part against Palace.
“I’m happy for Kevin. His qualities, there is no doubt about it – everybody knows how much we need him when he’s in form,” added Doku, who is making his own way back to form after injury.
City manager Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, has also backed de Bruyne to make a difference.
“We don’t have many players, but it’s important he’s back. A long time (he was out), so we will see how he reacts with this amount of games,” said the Spaniard, who confirmed that defenders John Stones and Nathan Ake, and midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Phil Foden are out of the Palace game due to injuries.
On Palace, he added: “They’re playing really good, they make a step forward, finished unbelievably last season. Physicality, Selhurst Park, the patterns, so aggressive, so difficult to make build-up, and the quality is there.” AFP
