Laporte in his comeback match was substituted by Eric Garcia in the 78th minute.
Manchester City's French defender Aymeric Laporte (R) reacts during the English Premier League football match between Sheffield United and Manchester City at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, northern England on January 21, 2020. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
Aymeric Laporte returned to Manchester City after being out for five months due to injury and club manager Pep Guardiola said that the team missed the defender a lot.
Notably, Laporte made his comeback in Tuesday’s Premier League match against Sheffield United, which the Citizens won 1-0.
“We missed him a lot,” said Guardiola as quoted by club’s official website.
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“He has something we don’t have in the squad. He is left footed and plays left sided central defender. He makes our build up quicker, not because the other ones can’t, but because he is the only left footed central defender.
“For the way we want to play, he is so important. Apart from his character and mentality, he has all the attributes to be what he is.
“For me, when he is fit, he is the best left sided centre back in the world,” he added.
Laporte in his comeback match was substituted by Eric Garcia in the 78th minute.
“I spoke to him (Laporte) yesterday, the doctor said he is ready. He said ‘I feel good, but I don’t have rhythm’. I said ‘you are going to take the rhythm from games, not just from training sessions’,” said Guardiola.
On Tuesday night, Sergio Aguero’s goal in the 73rd minute saw Manchester City consolidate their second place in the Premier League points table. However, Liverpool top the chart by maintaining a 13-point gap with Pep Guardiola’s men.
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