Pep Guardiola always finds a way: Ex-Manchester City star Shaun Wright-Phillips on club's 'striker stuff'

Former English footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips said that Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola always finds a way to 'deliver the goods' as the Premier League champions continue to hunt a centre-forward for their squad.

Manchester City have been without a traditional striker in the squad since the club's all-time leading goal-scorer Sergio Aguero moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2021.

Talking about this 'striker stuff' at Manchester City, Shaun Wright-Phillips who played in sky-blue from 1999 to 2005 and then from 2008 to 2011 told ANI: "Well, everybody keeps going on about this striker stuff. But the last two seasons, I don't think we pretty much played with a number nine, and last year we won it (Premier League) and this year, we're in a position to win it again."

"So although it would be nice to have a striker there. I don't think it's an aggressive attack. I just think it's a calculated one and if it works, it works, if it doesn't Pep (Guardiola) always finds a way to deliver the goods anyway," he added.

Since the arrival of Pep, Manchester City have dominated English football but they have come short in the upper echelon of Europe -- UEFA Champions League. Their best result came last season when they were beaten by another English team, Chelsea FC in the final.

Sharing his thoughts on this, Shaun said: "Well, for me personally, I don't think I think they've left more than a mark in the Champions League to the point where a lot of teams try to avoid them in the next round. So I think they've done well in that respect."

"Of course, everybody wants to win the Champions League, but as I said, it's not an easy competition to win and you do need a little bit of luck in doing it," he pointed.

On Sunday, Manchester City retained their slender lead in the Premier League title race after a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium, in which Liverpool twice fought back to earn a point.

Shedding light on the match, the 40-year-old said: "Well, first of all, I thought the match was outstanding on both parts. I feel like especially in the first half we should have been 3-1 up, but that's what happens in football with you don't take your chances. In general I think it was a well-deserved point from both sides and I think City is still in pole position to win the league." Shaun further added how the partnership with Acronis will set the standard for cyber protection for Manchester City.

Shaun who was in the squad of England for the FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa also talked about the chances of the Three Lions in the Qatar 2022.

Qatar in 2022 will host the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and Arab world and will only be the second one to be played on the Asian continent.

Notably, Qatar will host the most compact version of the tournament in modern history. All eight stadiums are within 50km of central Doha, while fans, players, and officials will be able to stay in one accommodation throughout the event, which will conclude with the final at the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 -- which is also Qatar National Day.

Shaun said: "World cups are hard competition, it doesn't matter how good you are. Sometimes it's the luck of the draw, sometimes you can get through the groups without playing too well and get to the finals."

"But I think with England, they have the potential to win it. It's just putting it all together. I think that the firepower that we've got up top and the midfielders are fantastic. Because as long as we keep clean sheets, we're in with a fantastic chance of winning the whole thing."

The 22nd edition of the tournament will kick off on November 21, 2022, when Qatar -- the reigning champions of Asia -- take their FIFA World Cup bow at the tournament's first match at the stunning 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor City.

( With inputs from ANI )

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