Ederson opens up on Pep Guardiola chat that transformed Man City tactics

27.09.2022 - 17:51 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Ederson says Pep Guardiola showed him a video of his time at Benfica with a simple instruction shortly after his arrival at Manchester City.

Ederson joined City in 2017, a year after Guardiola and following a difficult season for Blues goalkeepers. Guardiola had told Joe Hart he wanted his own keeper, but his replacement Claudio Bravo struggled to impress, and Ederson was signed the next summer.

In the following five years, Ederson has been City's undisputed number one, adding a whole new dimension to the way they play due to his calmness on the ball and accuracy while playing out from the back. And the Brazilian has revealed how Guardiola signed him specifically to use those skills to exploit space behind opponents.

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Speaking to City's media team to look back on his first season at the Etihad, Ederson says Guardiola used him to spread opponents out across the pitch and take advantage of their high pressing.

"I was already used to play this position, playing with a high line. Our team was a team that made high pressure, so the defenders were almost in the midfield line," he said.

"So I needed to be as high as possible so I could intervene in a possible counter attack or in a ball behind our defenders. And in the build-up most teams would pressure us high and I had three options, a short pass, a medium pass or a long pass, which was the pass to the attacker that stood in the front.

"I made some assists so that might have been a surprise for them. But for me it wasn't a surprise because I already knew what I could do and what I could make to the opponents.

"Especially when i arrived, Pep showed a video of an assist I have in my last game