3 days ago
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Manchester City star Oscar Bobb was left out of the matchday squad for a second straight game and Pep Guardiola was asked about it
As Manchester City prepared to head to Newcastle a few weeks ago, Pep Guardiola was asked about Oscar Bobb. St James' Park was the scene of Bobb's greatest moment in his career so far, masterfully controlling a wonderful Kevin De Bruyne ball in the dying moments before finishing a dazzling goal.
It completed a sensational comeback for City in the 2023/24 season that was vital in the team kicking on and making history with four consecutive Premier League titles, and it marked Bobb out as a very special talent. It looked as though the forward would kick on in the new season, only to suffer a leg fracture on the eve of the campaign.
Since his return earlier this year, everything has been more difficult for Bobb. He has shown glimpses of the level that saw him break into the side but the consistency hasn't been there, and he hasn't been decisive enough when breaking into the box to argue that he should be getting more game time.
Before Newcastle, Guardiola had nothing but compliments for the 22-year-old. "Sometimes he has less minutes because of the competition or maybe we play a little bit different. I have a lot of incredible good opinion about him," he said.
"He played the first two or three games, played good defensively, his high pressing and intuition is extraordinary. The moment he is free in his mind he will do it. I know the last games with Norway he played really good and he will play a World Cup with Norway. I miss him last season a lot and he is going to help us. When he play he plays really good."
Bobb came on for Rayan Cherki for the final 20 minutes of the Newcastle game but was unable to repeat his magical moment and City fell to a 2-1 defeat. Guardiola was happy enough with his performance though to start him against Leverkusen a few days later.
That's where an awful few days for Bobb started. He played without confidence and was hooked at half-time of the Champions League defeat, with Guardiola lamenting afterwards that the team 'didn't try' to be decisive and were too scared to take risks.
For the game with Leeds on Saturday, Bobb was left out of the matchday squad entirely. And the same thing happened at Fulham on Tuesday night, with the Norwegian stuck at home wondering when his next opportunity will come.
Between those games, City's interest in Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has emerged with a transfer possible as early as the January transfer window. That would only increase competition on the wings, as well as adding to the numbers in a squad where players are already being left out when there aren't many injuries.
Asked about Bobb's absence at Fulham, Guardiola was blunt. "My decision," he said. "You tell me which one I have to leave out? That’s why. I have to leave one and it was Oscar."
Bobb can expect to come in from the cold at some point, but the City boss was frank in saying there were better options than him. A space will open up in the squad when Omar Marmoush leaves for the African Cup of Nations, but that will only be temporary and Rodri may be fit by then as well.
The longer he isn't involved, the harder it will be for Bobb to come back in and play with confidence.
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