Leroy Sane jokes about Pep Guardiola “criticising me straight away” when he first arrived at Manchester City, but the exciting young German admits the former Bayern Munich manager is taking his game to the next level.
Twelve goals and 13 assists have been registered in 35 games played by the talented 22-year-old, who has quickly become an integral part of a swashbuckling City side that are taking the Premier League by storm.
Guardiola’s side have been head and shoulders above the rest, with City a mighty 16 points ahead of Manchester rivals United with 10 games left, having tasted defeat just once this season.
Sane has already surpassed last season’s tally of nine goals and looks as if he’s been at City for years, but he admitted he had to quickly get used to Guardiola’s way of working after arriving from Schalke in the summer of 2016.
“As soon as I arrived here he was criticising me straight away,” Sane told presenter Jamie Redknapp in an interview for Sky Sports ahead of Sunday’s clash with Chelsea at the Etihad.
“He showed me where I can improve and every time I made a mistake he would say ‘You have to do it like this’. And when I tried to do it, I could see it helped me. Before you come here you hear that he is a good coach and then you come here and you really see how he works and you feel it.
“And you realise ‘Wow he can really help me’. He makes the game easier for you to keep the ball, to see where your team-mates are, what you can do with them and how you can help them. And you can see that everybody wants the ball and to help.”
Sane has heaped praise on team-mate Kevin De Bruyne and coach Pep Guardiola.
And Sane said Guardiola’s instructions are based on ‘the simple things’.
“I hear this every training session, every game, all the time,” added the Germany winger.
“For him, he just wants us to do the simple things, like a pass over two metres. So just be focused on not making an easy mistake and losing the ball and then the other team makes a counter-attack and scores.
“They are like stupid mistakes and this is what he wants me – and the other players – to improve. Even I can improve, which is kind of funny.”
Of course, Sane is just one of an army of City players in scintillating form this season, with Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne all shining.
And Sane admits that brilliant Belgian De Bruyne – battling with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah for player of the season honours – has an almost telepathic understanding with his team-mates.
“Kevin is a fantastic player and everyone knows and can see that,” he said.
“He also really enjoys playing football and the way he plays is fantastic – the assists and some of the passes he plays. I just run into the space and say ‘Kevin, here, here’. Sometimes he is not even looking at me and he still passes the ball.
“And that is why I always say that when Kevin has the ball, something is going to happen. So, we as strikers have to be ready and give him a choice of where to play the ball.
“And even if the space is really tight and you think the ball cannot go through, you still must expect that he will find a way to play the ball through.”
Sane was on song as City beat Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates on Thursday, a mirror image of the dominant display and scoreline they inflicted as the Gunners were blown away in the EFL Cup final last Sunday.
His superb run set up the opening goal for Bernardo Silva in the league game, and Sane admits he is in the form of the life.
“Yes, of course, this has been the best season of my career,” he said.
“I have improved a lot, even from last season, with this coach. And I am really enjoying it and having so much fun playing and training with my team-mates. I am kind of lucky to be here.
“Sometimes you have to give an assist for someone to score a goal and that is a really good feeling, especially when you give a good pass, or after dribbling past someone and then passing for someone to score.”
Sane has terrorised opposition defenders this term and he is happy out on the flank, even if he can see himself playing more centrally later in his career.
“I like to play wide, but as a youth I played more in the middle as a 10,” he said. “So for me they are both really good positions and we will see what will happen if there are any coaches who come in and say ‘You can play through the middle for me’. But I am also really happy to play wide.”
Speaking of terrorising defenders, Sane surprisingly singled out Crystal Palace’s Manchester United loanee Timothy Fosu-Mensah as one of his toughest opponents so far this season.
He said: “It was before when I was playing against Kyle Walker. And Crystal Palace’s right-back Timothy Fosu-Mensah, I have played against him twice this season, and even last season, he had me really well under control and I told him how happy I was to play against him.”
City have swept all before them this season, their only defeat coming in a thrilling 4-3 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in January.
And asked what problems the Blues can cause his side on Sunday, Sane said: “It will be a really tough game, they have really strong and quick strikers, they stay in the defence really well and waiting for the mistakes of the opponent.
“And then they try and attack you really quick, seeing the spaces and most of the time playing through the middle. So it will be a really tough game against them.”
Pressed on whether the Premier League was everything he expected it to be, Sane added: “Yes, it is a really tough league, but so much fun.
“The games are so crazy and quick and it is so exciting to watch the big games. And you never know what is going to happen, even if they play against smaller clubs you have to expect everything. So I am really enjoying playing in this league.
“It is 100 per cent more physical here than in the Bundesliga, while it is quicker here. It is also kind of a bit boring in that you know it is Bayern Munich who is always winning the league. In the Premier League, anything can happen, whereas it is only Borussia Dortmund challenging Bayern.
“And they play carefully, they do not try and play good and aggressively at the front, to score goals and to play dangerously with risks. So this was what was really saying to me the Premier League is so exciting for me and this is what I tried to look for and even how I like to play.”
Sane will hope to be part of the Germany World Cup squad this summer.
Sane was not part of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad in Brazil. He made his debut for Die Mannschaft a year later and has gone on to win nine caps under Joachim Low.
He hopes to be part of the squad in Russia this summer and, if he succeeds, admits Germany will have one aim, to retain the trophy.
“I hope I can be part of the squad that goes to the World Cup,” he said.
“I am really looking forward to it as it is the biggest tournament for football, everyone is watching it in the world and I hope I can get some experience there too. I think the Germany team is really good, strong team, we are one of the favourites and our target is to defend the World Cup.”
