Manchester City don't need another defender, claims Vincent Kompany
Despite a 3-1 loss to league leaders Liverpool, Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has admitted that his former side doesn’t need a new defender. Injury issues have forced Fernandinho, Rodri and Kyle Walker to play as center-backs with Aymeric Laporte out till the new year with a knee injury.
In the end, Manchester City walked away with a 3-1 loss to their name and had to watch as Liverpool increased their lead to nine points. It also saw the Cityzens’ falling to fourth place in the Premier League table allowing Leicester City and Chelsea to leap-frog over them. However, their issues have been largely defensive with injuries robbing the club of key center-backs.
That combined with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi’s failure to find a footing in this season has forced Pep Guardiola to play midfielders as center-backs. But despite that and Liverpool’s nine point lead at the summit, Vincent Kompany believes that his former side do not need a new defender in the winter window. The Belgian went on to admit that it was always going to be a tough match and Manchester City cannot panic because it went against them.
"I don't think they need to sign another defender. We always struggle at Anfield. I said that on Super Sunday, you're fighting 25 years of not winning at Anfield and that's difficult, it's two games in one game - you're playing a great team and you're fighting history," Kompany told Sky Sports.
"Flip it around and the same will happen for Liverpool - they will fight the history of not winning the league for 30 years. That should be to City's advantage I still think. As to the defence, the best way for City to defend in the past has been to attack. They have no reason to change that. As soon as they start reconnecting with the best performances, I'm convinced that we can see a sustainable amount of wins."
The Reds did not dominate the game but did dominate the scoreline scoring via a Fabinho wonder-strike and headers from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane. But in the build up to the first goal, Trent Alexander-Arnold appeared to handle the ball inside his box and the VAR backed the referee’s call which saw Liverpool score and that did not please Guardiola or Kompany. The Belgian went on to admit that he and the other pundit were bewildered when the goal was allowed to stand.
"The incident happens and I'm confused. That's the problem. I'm confused. I'm thinking 'Okay, I'm not the expert in everything'. Then I look to my right at Jose Mourinho, Roy Keane and Graham Souness. We're all confused. Surely that says something about the process?
“The fact that this could still be for debate when there's a VAR system that is meant to make football simpler and fairer. The goal happens 20 seconds later. My feeling remains that although Liverpool were great, and both teams tried to play the way they are known to play, I felt this first decision was so important to get right," Kompany told Sky Sports.