Russian Invasion: It’s Not An Easy Time For Zinchenko – Guardiola

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says it has been difficult for Oleksandr Zinchenko to focus on football following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Naija News reports that the full-back was handed the captain’s armband in City’s FA Cup fifth-round win at Peterborough on Tuesday.

He played the full 90 minutes on Tuesday night as second-half efforts from Riyad Mahrez – his 19th of the campaign – and Jack Grealish’s first-ever FA Cup goal secured a 2-0 victory and a place in the quarter-finals.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Guardiola said playing football was best for the Ukrainian international, adding that the club is behind him.

He said this was the reason the club gave Zinchenko the captain’s armband as a show of support against Russia’s invasion of his homeland.

The Spaniard also praised Fernandinho for his decision to hand the armband to Zinchenko.

He said: “Yes of course it is not an easy period for Alex.

“He got not just [support from our fans], but all around the world, the UK, about this insane situation we are living in right now.

“Playing football is the best way for him. We are through to the next round and it was a good night knowing the difficulty of the FA Cup away.

“They started much better than us in the second half but the rest, we controlled difficult conditions on the pitch, we adapted well and at the end the quality of the players made the difference.”

This article was originally published on Nigeria News