The evergreen Ferna is rightly praised, as is the display of Ilkay Gundogan as the Blues quickly returned to winning ways.
That’s the gist of Thursday’s back pages, so let’s get cracking…
READ: CITY DNA:The man who beat Charlie Chaplin with a kitchen utensil
Reaction
Ferna emerges as defensive fix for injury hit City
“Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has the personality and experience to solve their injury crisis in defence, manager Pep Guardiola has said.
“The Brazilian was deployed as a makeshift central defender in Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League win at Shakhtar Donetsk, with John Stones out for five weeks due to a muscle injury and Aymeric Laporte recovering from knee surgery.
“Partnering City’s only other fit senior centre back Nicolas Otamendi, the 34-year-old Fernandinho looked comfortable in the role with the additional responsibility of captaincy in his first start of the season.”
Irish Examiner: Classy City make no mistake in Ukraine
Chris Hatherall writes: “Any talk of a defensive crisis at Manchester City was eased as they cruised to a Champions League victory at Shakhtar Donetsk to put memories of a shock defeat at Norwich behind them.
“Goals from Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan, and Gabriel Jesus were enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to open Group C with a comfortable victory in which midfielder Fernandinho produced an assured appearance as an emergency centre-half.
“The victory also rescued Premier League reputations as City became the only English side to win in the first week of the new campaign following defeats for Liverpool and Chelsea plus a draw for Tottenham.”
Meanwhile, CBS Sports has the headline of the day…
CBS Sports: Manchester City handles its business
“Manchester City responded well from that loss to Norwich City last weekend in Premier League play, dominating Shakhtar Donetsk on the road. City let the hosts just get one shot on goal in the entire match, as Riyad Mahrez (24’), Ilkay Gundogan (38’) and Gabriel Jesus (76’) found the back of the net for Pep Guardiola‘s side.”
Player quotes
The Mirror carry a Q&A between Bernardo and Gabriel Jesus, revealing how being away from home and family can be tough sometimes.
Mirror: Jesus and Bernardo lift lid on jobs they’d outside of football
Liam Penderville writes: “Jesus reflects on the difficulty of playing all year round, admitting he misses out on many special occasions…”
“I think we miss a lot of special dates, birthdays, special days with family. My mother’s, brother’s, nephew’s, Christmas and New Year,” the Brazilian added.
‘Here in England, we never stop so we do miss those special moments.’
Asked what Silva would be if he wasn’t a footballer, Jesus suggests a comedian before claiming he would be a mathematician.
But the Portugal international has another idea, claiming he would be a businessman.
His teammate quips: ‘You would need a stylist to help you because your clothes aren’t enough.’
On the first person they speak to after a match, Jesus insists he is always in contact with his mother.
‘I speak to her the most before and after games’ he added.
‘Someone wrote something actually. They said my celebration was to an ex-girlfriend because she was ignoring my calls.
‘That is a lie. It is really for my mother.’
That’s it for today – we’ll return tomorrow with build up to our game with Watford…
