Riyad Mahrez must improve his physical condition if he wants to get back into the Manchester City team, according to Pep Guardiola.
Mahrez was on the bench again for Sunday's win over United and has started just two of City's eight Premier League games this season. With Phil Foden scoring three at the weekend and Jack Grealish coming into form, it is only going to get harder for the Algerian winger to regain his place in the team.
Guardiola knows just how important Mahrez can be - he was the club's top scorer last season and stepped up in a number of big games - yet at the same time has been very clear that he wants more from him. Even if his footballing ability is not in doubt, the manager expects him to be in better shape before he starts picking him again.
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"He knows [what he needs to do]," said Guardiola. "I know Riyad perfectly. We need him, he has to come back to his best and at his best Riyad in terms of personality, quality, ability, his love for this game how he enjoys to play. Step by step, he's going to come back.
"He has to come back in a better physical condition and after the best will come because as a player I cannot teach him anything because he is too good."
City's game with Copenhagen could offer Mahrez a route back into the team, although Guardiola warned against underestimating their opponents - especially after thrashing United.
"That is the problem and after the game against United this is the biggest issue. Hopefully I can tell them and show them to pay a lot of attention because it is not easy to break the structure they have against Sevilla - I saw this morning and they were brilliant, Sevilla struggled to break them.
"I know what they can do, they have a quality to play and are brave to go forward, when they have the ball they don't just play long balls to the striker. They have the ability and courage to play and we have to try to force them to play long balls but they have many many things. I was surprised this morning when I watched how many good things they did."
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