Guardiola – Why I Started Iheanacho Against Man U

With Sergio Aguero missing through suspension, Guardiola had the option to deploy a midfielder or winger as a false nine, but he instead turned to Kelechi Iheanacho, and the youngster duly obliged by delivering a fine performance, during which he provided an assist and scored what proved to be the decisive goal in the 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Guardiola said:-

“He was the only striker we had in that moment.

I thought about many other options – but I thought in the beginning to show to my players that I came to win the game.”

Despite being just 19, Iheanacho, who is now City’s youngest ever goalscorer in the Manchester derby, is unfazed by playing in the Premier League and was hugely impressive on Saturday, creating two chances and completing 75% of his attempted passes.

Aguero is likely to return to the starting line-up for the Champions League encounter at home to Borussia Monchengladbach in midweek, but Iheanacho has demonstrated that he can be an extremely important member of Guardiola’s squad this season.