How Ake became maestro at Blues

NATHAN Ake recoils with horror as he laughs: "No, no, imagine that?! Oh my god, no chance."

- SIMON BAJSKOWSI

It turns out if you want to fluster the City defender just suggest he shows off his hobby of playing the piano in a public place, such as the one on the pitch in Istanbul for the Champions League final.

City's No.6 enjoys practising when he can and favours music that is 'nice but not too difficult, but crumbles when he can sense people are watching him.

All of which is at odds with the reputation he has build at the Etihad as he enters 2024 as Pep Guardiola's most reliable defender after being a bedrock of the Treble winners by making an incredibly difficult job in the team look simple.

After struggling to show he could be a first-team regular during his first two seasons at the club, Ake became undroppable for Guardiola last year.

As the team struggled after the World Cup trying to adopt a new system, the manager declared that the team simply couldn't play well without Ake and Rico Lewis and defensive masterclasses against Bukayo Saka, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Salah backed this up. "He's not in the highlights, but without Nathan right now we cannot play good," said the manager.

Ake's team-mates caught up with his level as the John Stones role clicked and City went on a storming run that brought them an historic Treble. In the end, the Dutch defender was grateful to have done enough to win his place back for the Champions League final after worrying that the performances were so good without him - particularly in the semi-final against Real Madrid.

"There was a period last season where we had a blip and were up and down after the World Cup. We then started with three defenders at the back and at one point it just clicked and everything went forward and everyone started to understand the things he wanted," he said.