Manchester City began their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Wydad AC on Wednesday night, courtesy of goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.
This match was the first since Pep Guardiola decided to reshuffle his coaching staff. Juanma Lillo, Carlos Vicens and Inigo Dominguez all left their posts in the summer, while Pepijn Lijnders has been appointed as assistant coach and James French as set-piece coach. Kolo Toure was also drafted in from the youth team for this tournament.
It is the appointment of Pepijn Lijnders that shocked many. The Dutchman was a pivotal part of Jurgen Klopp's coaching set-up during his time at Liverpool. The majority of those years were spent competing with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City during tense title races.
Pep Guardiola has now spoken about arrival of Klopp's former right-hand man. "We had a conversation with Jurgen but not about Pep. It was a long conversation. I suggested I was thinking about Pep and he gave me his high opinion. After I took time to reflect." he told the media in his press conference.
Guardiola then revealed he asked for the green light from his former rival. “I was in touch with Pep. I asked permission from Jurgen of course, I didn’t want to interfere. I asked if it would be a problem and he said absolutely not. After one or two days we decided yes."
