Pep Guardiola dropped Kalvin Phillips into the defence because he 'struggles in the small spaces' when playing in midfield. Phillips has played in each of Manchester City's three pre-season friendlies, but was unconvincing in midfield against Celtic and AC Milan. "He was really good for the problems we had. I know Kalvin when he gets the ball and can see all the pitch in front of him he's a really good player. I want to say thank you for Rico (Lewis) and Oscar (Bobb), especially Rico for playing 90 minutes three times.

Source: Express July 31, 2024 12:47 UTC