Mateo Kovacic urges Man City to raise their level in the absence of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne but admits it is ‘never easy’ to miss several key players in title defence
- Manchester City fought back from behind to beat Luton 2-1 at the weekend.
- The champions did so without Erling Haaland, who missed the match due to injury.
- Get away from Erik ten Hag! Manchester United’s lackluster performances are down to the players, not the manager. Listen why It all begins
Mateo Kovacic says Manchester City will need to improve while they are missing key players if they are to stay in the Premier League title race.
The champions came from behind to beat Luton 2-1 on Sunday but did so without injured top scorer Erling Haaland, who was sidelined with a stress fracture in his foot.
The 23-year-old, who has scored 19 goals this campaign to add to the 52 he scored in his debut season for City, is also likely to miss Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Belgrade to face Red Star Belgrade ” and Saturday’s home match with Kristall. Castle.
In-form striker Jeremy Doku also missed the win at Kenilworth Road with a muscle injury, joining long-term absentee Kevin De Bruyne among those unavailable to manager Pep Guardiola as his side look to close the four-point gap on the league leaders. Liverpool.
“Obviously we were missing key players like Erling and Kevin. It’s never easy to miss such big players,” Kovacic said. “But they’re not here at the moment, we need everyone to give 10, 20 percent more like we did (Sunday) and then we can win games.”
Mateo Kovacic believes Manchester City must improve due to missing key players
Erling Haaland misses win over Luton with stress fracture in foot
The win was City’s first in five matches, following draws with Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea before last week’s defeat at Aston Villa.
Defeat to Rob Edwards’ side would leave them seven points behind the Reds, but a win over Palace would move them within one point of the top, with the teams above them not playing until Sunday.
Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish each scored within three minutes of the second half to turn the game around after Elijah Adebayo’s goal late in the first period left them facing a fifth straight winless game.
“The team was confident because we played well,” Kovacic said. “We had good results, there were draws that we could have won.
“Sometimes it’s football and then it’s a question of how you come back. Today we returned in good condition.
Kevin De Bruyne ruled out long-term as City look to defend their crown
“Big three points. Overall we played great football, especially in the first half: we played very well and found a lot of players in our pockets, which is what we want.
“When you do your job and persist, goals come. We could have scored more, but I’m happy with the three points.
“We have seen in recent games that big teams can fight here. We showed that even in such circumstances we can do our best and play good football.
“Over the years, this team has proven that in times of need, they are there for you, and they were there again (Sunday).”