Pep Guardiola on why Benjamin Mendy is irreplaceable
Manchester City's manager, Pep Guardiola in a recent interview with Sky Sports told how difficult it was to replace Benjamin Mendy after he was injured last season with just six games into it. He said -
"We could not demand Fabian Delph, and Oleksandr Zinchenko do what Benjamin Mendy does, in terms of going up and down the wing, attacking space and having his physicality because they have different physical conditions.
We saw it [Mendy's quality] in Monaco in France, his quality to go forward. When a player has this quality, we have to use it, because it's his ability to create problems."
He further added - "Last season we adapted the way we defended, used Fabien and Zinchenko, but we didn't have another option last season. That's why speaking about tactics you first have to speak about the quality of the players and how they move with their team-mates for the way we want to play."
Benjamin Mendy was signed by Manchester City last season on a five-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £52m, which is a world record fee for a defender. Along with Mbappe, Fabinho, Mendy was an essential player in Monaco's title-winning season.
But he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Crystal Palace which ruled him out till April. It dealt a significant blow to Manchester City and especially to Pep Guardiola who knew how crucial he was to the team.
Guardiola is glad that Mendy is fit and ready to produce all the goods he expects from him this season.
With such a huge price tag and a bag full of talent Mendy will be hoping he stays fit for this season and repeat the same performance as he did with Monaco and brag a second successive Premier League medal.