Manchester City head coach Andrée Jeglertz was full of praise for his side on Friday night but especially for Japanese winger Aoba Fujino.
Jeglertz spoke to the media following his side’s 5-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and The Halfway Line was there to hear from him.
Andrée Jeglertz lauds Fujino: ‘What a football player’
Grace Clinton’s debut for Manchester City went perfectly to plan. Off the bench with 25 minutes to play, she combined well with her team mates and even picked up her first City goal.
“[She can add] a lot [to the team]. She’s a great football player” Jeglertz asserted. “She can play both in the build up and she can be part of the final act.
“So I definitely think she can bring a lot of things for the team. So happy for her first goal but of course, also to have her in the group.”
While Grace Clinton got her first minutes, Aoba Fujino also got her first start of the season for Manchester City. Fujino marked the occasion by putting in a show stopping performance, scoring the opener and winning her side a penalty.
“What a football player” Jeglertz said of Fujino. “You see her with the ball but just how she is working with her defending, cutting off angles, helping the team.
“It’s not often that you go in at half time praising [only] one player, but I definitely did that.
“What she did in first half her way of pressing was helping the team so much. Great game for her.”
‘We believe so much in the process’ says Andrée Jeglertz
Coming into the match on Friday night, Spurs were three points clear of Manchester City in the table. However it did not take long for City to demonstrate how deceiving the table can be in September.
“It wasn’t easy because Tottenham is a good team” Jeglertez explained. “I think that the important part [is] that we believe so much in the process that even though that they are having some rotations and so on, I think that we are very calm.
“We are brave with the ball, we have great players but also, we have created a lot of scoring chances the last three games and we do it in so many different ways.
“It’s not just having the ball for 15 passes and then create. We do it in transition, we create a scoring [chance] winning the ball high up. We are doing it on set plays.
“So I think that’s that’s the thing that we will bring with us during the year round.”
Miedema ‘should be in the centre of the field’ says Jeglertz
Vivianne Miedema got on the scoresheet against a familiar foe on Friday night in Spurs. That was her first goal of the season for City with speculation about the role she is playing for City continuing, Jeglertz weighed in,
“She should be in the centre of the field” Jeglertz said. “She can play nine, she can play 10. But for us, I think she has been very good in this 10 position, where she has a little bit more freedom.
“Just being a little bit below Bunny [Shaw], that gives a lot of things for her. And I think she’s shown both in this game and the other games that she can bring a lot of things for the team.”
‘It’s tough for her’ Jeglertz laments Hemp injury
Lauren Hemp went down injured early in the first half and looked in a lot of pain following a challenge on Jess Naz, clutching her right boot. Jeglertz provided an update,
“I don’t know [the extent of Hemp’s injury]” the Swede explained.
“Of course, it’s a tough for her. Of course she’s sad and we all are, but I don’t know about the outcome of let’s see how it is in the coming days.
“I don’t know exactly about that [whether the injury is her ankle].”
