Ederson explains tactical tweak Man City have made this season

Ederson believes Manchester City are even better defensively this season due to how quickly the team are winning the ball back on the rare occasions they lose it.

City kept their 20th clean sheet of the season on Wednesday as they drew 0-0 with Sporting in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie, safe in the knowledge that they were all but through to the next round already after hammering the Portuguese champions 5-0 in Lisbon. Yet, the goalless draw is still impressive considering the Blues' back-line contained 19-year-old CJ Egan Riley, while fellow youngster Luke Mbete also came on as well backup goalkeeper Scott Carson.

With a big chunk of the season still to play, City only need 12 more clean sheets to match last season's tally and have also conceded the joint fewest amount of goals, with Chelsea, in the Premier League this season. Ederson has explained how they have managed to get even better at the back.

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“If you look at the team this season compared to last season, we have improved a lot defensively," the goalkeeper told BT Sport. "When we lose the ball, we press high to win it back quickly to reduce the amount of running we have to do.

"This is shown in the number of goals conceded and the amount of interceptions we’ve made. The team works very hard, the 11 players on the pitch do their bit. So I believe that what we’re seeing on the pitch is as the result of the team’s collective effort.”

Carson made a great save late on to ensure City didn't lose the match and Pep Guardiola also explained why he brought him on. "We are delighted - he is very important behind the scenes," he said.