Kyle Walker lauds Man City backroom staff member for specific success after ‘hours and hours’ of work

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Published on 2024-02-01 19:15:00

Manchester City’s captain, Kyle Walker, has expressed admiration for the club’s set-piece coach following recent successes against Tottenham and Burnley.

In the past week, Nathan Ake and Julian Alvarez have scored crucial goals from set-pieces, contributing to important victories in the Emirates FA Cup and the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s team clinched a 3-1 win against Burnley at the Etihad Stadium and secured their first-ever victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, progressing to the fifth round of the competition with a late 1-0 win in north London.

Kevin De Bruyne played a pivotal role in both goals, delivering a corner kick targeted at the goalkeeper against Tottenham and a deceptive free-kick move against Burnley.

Since his recent return for the Blues, De Bruyne has been instrumental, contributing to goals against Huddersfield, Newcastle, Spurs, and Burnley.

De Bruyne provided insight into Manchester City’s recent training on set-pieces, while captain Kyle Walker revealed that the team had been working on pre-meditated plays.

Following the victory at Tottenham, Walker praised the set-piece training, stating that the team had worked hard on it in Abu Dhabi and Manchester.

He credited the set-piece coach for the success and emphasized the importance of executing the plan for the benefit of the club, players, and fans.

Walker said: “We’ve worked on set pieces this week and we’ve been working hard – in Abu Dhabi and in Manchester. It’s something we worked on and thought it was an area where we could exploit.

“It’s paid off – full credit to the set-piece coach who works hard and spends hours and hours watching videos. We just have to execute the plan.

“We’ve got a job – if we have to win games like that, we don’t mind, as long as we come away with the victory. That’s the most important for the club, the players and the fans.”

Manchester City will continue their Premier League title bid with a trip to Brentford on Monday evening, with Thomas Frank’s side known for their impressive set-piece work.

The west London side won against City both home and away last season, securing a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium and a 1-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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