Kyle Walker has shared what he tells his teammates at Manchester City and England to do when his side have taken the lead in games.
Walker has just finished his first season as captain of City, which culminated in a Premier League title. That was an historic achievement, with no club ever having won four in a row before.
City weren’t quite at their very best in 2023/24. But it was still a fairly successful season, with the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup also being won.
And throughout last term, we once again saw City thrash teams, and Walker has offered some insight as to why that happens.
Kyle Walker ‘always’ tells Man City and England teammates to push for more goals
Walker has recorded another episode of his podcast called You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker, and the focus of his latest was the Euros.
Walker spoke about his time as an England player, and about the differences between the squad now and years ago.
It is clear there is a great bond between all the players. And hopefully, this will count for a lot over the next few weeks in Germany.
The conversation turned to when England played Germany at the last Euros. England took the lead through Raheem Sterling on 75 minutes.
It was put to Walker about defending the 1-0 lead. But the 34-year-old is not such a fan of that, even in knockout football.
He said: “I don’t really like doing that. I feel once you sit it out and say ‘We’re going to sit back as a low block’, you’re inviting pressure on you.
“I always say to the lads at City and England, ‘Once we score we go again. We don’t be stupid and naive and start chucking everyone upfront’.
But we’ve hurt them, we’ve scored a goal, let’s go and get another one.
At the same time, you’ve got to have a bit of savvy about you and think ‘We’re also vulnerable as well’. They say you’re the most vulnerable when you score a goal.”
This is how to respond
Walker’s comments will probably be shared by most of his City teammates, and many of the England players too.
It is never the best idea to try and sit on a one-goal lead. Especially if that goal has come fairly early in the game.
Attack is often the best form of defence, and getting out of sight just makes it so difficult for the opposition.
Hopefully we will be seeing Walker – who last week claimed he hated having days off – barking this instruction at the Euros in Germany. England have a plethora of incredible talents, especially in the forward areas.
We need to see them being bold and pushing for more goals if the opportunity is there to do so. Of course, there could be instances where England are playing a team with dangerous attackers, and so different tactics may be required there.