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Pep Lijnders Said that Manchester City are determined to continue firing on all fronts after breaking into double figures. Exeter In the FA Cup.
New signing worth £62.5m Antoine Semenho First goal as Manchester City beat their opponents and send out a strong statement of intent League One The two sides drew 10-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Title-chasing Manchester City have suffered frustrating draws in each of their first three Premier League games and now face Newcastle in the first leg of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final.
Guardiola’s assistant coach Lijnders believes it is important for the team to return to winning ways in such a strong way.
The Dutchman, who was in charge of technical matters when Guardiola was suspended for one game, said: “We want to reach the final this year and we are on the way. We now play the League Cup semi-finals.”
“We’ve gone further in the FA Cup and we’re in a good position for the Champions League. We want to build on that.”
“But the most important thing for us, and Pep has always said this, is that we want to grow, we want to build, we want to take the next step as a team.
“To do that, we need to keep working hard and not take anything for granted. That way we will grow and we will take the next step.”
Youngster Max Alleyne started the rout before Rodri scored his first goal in 20 months. City then benefited from two own goals.
Rico Lewis scored twice in the second half, with Semenio, Tijani Reynders, Nico O’Reilly and 17-year-old rookie Ryan McAdoo also scoring.
Semenho also scored for Lewis, who was only confirmed as a City player following his move from Bournemouth on Friday.
Lijnders said: “I thought there were a lot of good performances today. When the team plays like this it makes it easier for individuals, but Antoine has adapted well.
“He’s a humble guy. He brings to the front line what we really want and need.
“He attacks with speed, he wants to chase, he’s a guy who doesn’t stop. He adapts to our style very quickly.”
It was a difficult afternoon for Exeter, although George Birch did score a superb late consolation.
Manager Gary Caldwell joked that things could have been worse if Liam Oakes had taken his chance early.
He said: “If that early chance had gone away it might have pissed them off and they might have scored more!
“It’s a lesson that when one of the best coaches of all time needs to win a game, he picks a team to win the game.
“The respect they showed was outstanding – they did what City should have done to us.
“It’s a really humbling experience but our season won’t be defined by it. It will be defined by the rest of the league.”