Ferdinand: 'Man City are weaker than last season'
"No English team has done that. It will be a big challenge," Ferdinand told the Daily Mail. "One of the important issues is how Man City can maintain stability when De Bruyne is absent for many months and without Ilkay Gundogan or Riyad Mahrez. It will be difficult for them."
Last night, Man City beat Sevilla 5-4 in the penalty shootout, after drawing 1-1 in time, to win the European Super Cup for the first time. This title extends the happy days of Pep Guardiola's teachers and students after winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season. The victory also helped Man City ease the sadness of losing Arsenal's penalty shootout 1-4 in the English Super Cup on August 6.
However, Guardiola's teachers and students faced difficulties in terms of force at the beginning of this season. After letting Gundogan switch to Barca, and Mahrez joined the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, the creativity in the midfield of Man City was affected. In addition, Kevin De Bruyne's hamstring injury and three to four months of rest will also cause Guardiola more headaches.
Having played under the guidance of former manager Alex Ferguson, who helped Man Utd dominate England for many years, Ferdinand believes that maintaining individual form in the team is not easy. He commented that Man City players need to prove their toughness after reaching the peak last season.
"I could argue that City are weaker than last season. They will lack the goals and assists from Mahrez, Gundogan and De Bruyne. Let's see how Man City replaces those three players. Cole Palmer will have to score a lot of goals, and Jack Grealish has to be more mature if he wants to fill the gap left by his seniors," said Ferdinand.
Sharing this view, former Man City midfielder Joleon Lescott emphasized that the trio of Mahrez, Gundogan and De Bruyne contributed to Man City's 80 goals last season. Meanwhile, Ferdinand thinks Erling Haaland will be under pressure to replicate his record of 52 goals in all competitions last season.
