Pep Guardiola praises 'outstanding' John Stones for Man City win in Champions League

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said Gabriel Jesus is needed for his defensive work at Manchester City even if he is not scoring goals. City's No.9 has been culpable as the Blues have struggled in front of goal all season, failing to score or even record a shot on target in six matches since the Liverpool game on November 8 and missing one of the best chances of the goalless Manchester derby.

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City will not underestimate Borussia Monchengladbach in the last-16 of the Champions League after the Bundesliga's stunning showings in the group stage.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola thinks that the Premier League is moving into a different phase of the season now the Champions League group stages are out of the way. Manchester City's manager has regularly raised the physical and mental battle of the teams that have had to play European football in a condensed schedule - especially for the Blues and other teams that went deep in continental competitions in August while their domestic rivals were able to recuperate.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said Manchester City are missing Sergio Aguero as the Argentine's fitness struggles continue. City's coach had already decided that Aguero would not start the Manchester derby despite him scoring on his return off the bench against Marseille in midweek because of the Argentine's longstanding issues; he has only started three games this season and has had a few premature returns trying to shake off a serious knee issue that kept him out for five months.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola insists Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is strong enough to ride out the storm at Manchester United despite coming under increased pressure as a result of their Champions League exit in midweek.Manchester City boss Guardiola believes Solskjaer is the victim of the cycle of instant judgement in modern football, with his job the source of speculation ahead of Saturday's Old Trafford derby.

straight to your inboxRio Ferdinand believes Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola saw something that everyone else didn't when signing Ferran Torres over the summer.City completed the signing of Torres from Valencia in the summer transfer window for around £20m - and the Spanish youngster has hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium.The 20-year-old has scored six goals in all competitions under Guardiola and has already played in numerous positions in the attacking trio.The Spain forward found

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said that Sergio Aguero has no chance of starting the Manchester derby on Saturday. The Manchester City striker returned to action to make just his fifth appearance of the season in the 3-0 win over Marseille, playing the last 25 minutes and scoring not long after coming on.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola got the response that he wanted from Raheem Sterling after challenging all of his Manchester City players to improve their performances.The City boss has made it a mission of the last fortnight as nearly all of his squad have returned to full fitness to try to raise the competition for places, and the hat-trick from Riyad Mahrez against Burnley set the standard for the rest of the attack to follow.Sterling, left on the bench in recent games having been

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has been recalled to the Manchester City starting line up as a reward for his last two performances and in training.Stones was one of six players to come back in for City from the side that drew in Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday. He partners Ruben Dias again, with Aymeric Laporte left out of the starting XI for the fourth game in a row.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola says Manchester City need to take their Champions League dead rubber seriously if they want to consider themselves a big team. The Blues confirmed top spot in the group with a drab 0-0 draw at Porto, ensuring an easier draw on paper in the last-16 of the knockout competition next year.

straight to your inboxGabriel Jesus has noticed a change in maturity in the Manchester City squad as they continue to search for improvement in the Champions League.City have suffered four consecutive exits at the quarter-final stage or earlier under Pep Guardiola and still have a point to prove in Europe. One player who has relished the challenge in Europe in recent games, however, is Jesus.

straight to your inboxHere are your Manchester City morning headlines for Monday, 30 November.Guardiola calls on defenders to stamp out errorsManchester City boss Pep Guardiola has challenged his defenders to avoid making mistakes if they want to keep their place in the starting line-up.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola played down the idea of resting Manchester City players in their upcoming Champions League fixtures as he looks to send a message to the players about the standards he expects.The Blues have sailed through the group stages in Europe with two games to spare after four straight wins and last week the manager took advantage of more players returning from injury to leave Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker at home for the Olympiacos trip.However, the players have

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola said that Sergio Aguero could return to Manchester City training as early as Sunday despite missing the Premier League win over Burnley. It has been a struggle to get the Argentine striker on the pitch all season and having returned from a five-month layoff in October he pulled up in his third game back.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola says no player loved football more than Diego Maradona, as he led Manchester City's tributes to the Argentina legend.Maradona has passed away at the age of 60, leading to tributes to be paid from around the world in respect of one of the greatest players to play the game.The sad news was confirmed before City's Champions League win in Olympiacos, with Guardiola paying tribute to Maradona in his post-match media commitments.Guardiola also offered his

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has confirmed the entire Manchester City squad is fit apart from Nathan Ake ahead of tomorrow's Champions League meeting with Olympiacos.City had been without Ake as well as Benjamin Mendy and Fernandinho in recent weeks while Sergio Aguero returned during the weekend's defeat against Tottenham.The Blues can all but secure passage to the knockout stages of the competition with a victory in Greece after winning all three of their group stage fixtures thus