Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson says that if the Champions League final against Chelsea goes down to penalties, he will be taking one for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The all-English final is set to take place in Porto on Saturday night, with Man City in the final for the first time in their history, while Chelsea will be looking to pick up their second title after the infamous win against Bayern Munich back in 2012.
The 27-year-old is famed for his ability with his feet since joining City, forming a key part of Guardiola’s style with his technique and passing out from the back to help build attacks.
Chelsea came out on top in both of the last two meetings between the sides, claiming a victory in the FA Cup semi-final last month before beating City on their own turf earlier this month thanks to a late goal from Marcos Alonso.
With margins between the two teams likely to be tight once more in a cup final, penalty shootouts could come into play.
Both Champions League finals Chelsea have taken part in have gone to penalties – with the win against Bayern Munich and a loss against Manchester United in 2008.
But should it come down to that again this year, Tuchel’s side will have something new to compete with.
“I am [on the list to take a penalty],” Ederson told TNT Sports. “I don’t need to train that much, but the fifth one, I’m taking it.
“The last one, the decisive, I’ll ask for it…”
Ederson has previously stated that he is the best penalty taker at Manchester City, but is not allowed to take them.
“I don’t train much free-kicks. I trained penalties and when I played for Riberao I took some free-kicks but that is in the past now. I am the best penalty taker but I am not chosen to take them.”
Ferran Torres send message to Pep Gaurdiola about Champions League final start for Manchester city.
Ferran Torres admits Manchester City will need luck on their side to win the Champions League final, as he said the whole squad will be needed to beat Chelsea in Porto on Saturday, himself included.
Torres looks set for a start on the bench in arguably City’s biggest-ever game, after threatening to break into Pep Guardiola’s first choice starting XI with a brilliant hat-trick against Newcastle.
However, Torres was sacrificed early in the next game at Brighton following Joao Cancelo’s red card and was deprived of the chance to play his way into contention.
Torres is City’s joint-top scorer in the Champions League this season with four goals, but has played half the amount of games as Riyad Mahrez, also on four.
And the Spaniard says the squad are aware that everyone will be needed to be ready to be called upon in Porto as the Blues look to bring back the European Cup.
“When you play Champions League you are facing the best teams in Europe,” he said.
“You also need a bit of luck in certain moments of the game. I think the team has made a step forward in terms of experience in the competition. We didn’t start the best way, but as the season went along, we have grown a lot as a team and we deserve to be where we are now.
“In the Premier League, you spend the whole year fighting for it, but the Champions League is special. Every player wants to win it and especially Manchester City as it could be the first one in our history. To win the Champions League you need the whole squad plugged in because everyone is going to be important at some point of the game.
“It’s true, we don’t have a top scorer this season, but we have many players that can scoregoals and that is one of the main strengths of this team.”
He credits Pep Guardiola with bringing on his game in such a small space of time as he can now offer City a pacey option across the front three.
He said: “Playing under Pep Guardiola’s command you improve as a player and as a team. I have learnt a lot this season, especially playing in positions on the pitch that I wasn’t used to and also the learnings on the day-to-day of one of the best clubs in the world.
“Pep Guardiola thinks about football 24/7. He has helped me a lot to grow as a player in my first year here. He’s helped me to learn how to play in different positions. He has taught me how to play as a left-winger – I wasn’t used to that! Also, he has taught me how to play as a false nine, especially at the beginning of the season.
“I’m very grateful to him, because he gets involved individually in the growth and the development of the players. He gives you the key factors to play in different positions on the pitch and I think that is making me grow as a player and as a person.”