Begiristain return, stunning comeback and Maresca faith - City Academy notebook

Hello and welcome to our latest Manchester City Academy Notebook, where we take a look at the latest goings on at Under-21 and Under-18 level.

It's a hectic time of year for the age-group sides with fixtures across a host of competitions but this round-up is about far more than just what happens on the pitch, it's about news and views away from the action as well.

This week we bring you the return of a familiar face who was keeping tabs on the youngsters this week, as well as analysis from City Under-21s Friday night clash with Stoke City and much more.

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To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

Begiristain return

A familiar face has been back at the club this week in the shape of Txiki Begiristain. The former City Sporting Director followed Pep Guardiola in returning to the club. Guardiola watched the Champions League defeat to PSG having decided it was important to be present in the first home game since the club were found guilty of more than 100 charges by the Premier League.

Begiristain then followed suit. He watched the Blues take on Ipswich in the Premier League last weekend and then attended the UEFA Youth League clash with AEK Athens on Tuesday night, where he sat next to his replacement Hugo Viana for the duration of the contest with the pair in almost constant conversation.

City's youngsters were held to 1-1 draw by the Greek side having fallen behind inside the opening five minutes. Teddie Lamb promptly levelled but the Blues couldn't find a way past a stubborn rearguard and had to settle for a point, their first of the competition after defeats to Porto and PSG in their opening two games.

Under-21 comeback

City Under-21s staged an incredible fightback to stun Stoke City in Premier League 2 on Friday night.

The Blues conceded three goals in 15 minutes at the start of the second half and looked to be staring a third league defeat of the campaign in the face. But Xavier Parker pulled one back with a quarter of an hour to go and sub Teddie Lamb narrowed the deficit to one shortly after. Fellow sub Harrison Miles levelled in the closing seconds of the 90 minutes before Dexter Oliver curled in a stunning added time winner.

It left boss Oli Reiss delighted with the result and the character, even if City's mad 15 minutes had left him perplexed.

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"I was very happy with the first half, we can always say a little bit of detail here and there," said Reiss, speaking to the Manchester Evening News after the game. "The performance was good so keep going. But I've no idea what happened in those 15 minutes. Sitting on the bench it was what kind of movie is this? But we fought to the end.

"I had to fight a little bit with myself at 3-0 for what we can do? Just stay in the game because there was plenty of time and this team with the quality can score goals as we saw in the last 20 minutes."

The Blues now face a must win game at Port Vale in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday. Any other result and City, who lost to Chesterfield in their other group game, will be eliminated.

As the players drifted off the Etihad pitch following the 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens on Tuesday night, three City stars were departing together, taking it all in.

Floyd Samba, in his winter club coat having been replaced late on in the contest, was flanked by Ryan McAidoo and Kaden Braithwaite, who both came on in the final stages of the game.

It was a proud moment for the players but also for the academy staff to see three graduates, all still teenagers and all playing academy football last season, play in a European competition.

Samba is the leading light having been trusted by Enzo Maresca to lead the line in the absence of the rested Erling Haaland. Samba scored twice on his full debut in the Carabao Cup success over Norwich City last month and didn't look out of place on Europe's biggest stage.

The trust shown in the trio by Maresca has not gone unnoticed at the Etihad and there is huge pride in the academy to see those players make a seamless step up to the first team.

This week's fixtures: Saturday: Under-18 Premier League: Derby vs City, 12noon. Tuesday: EFL Trophy: Port Vale vs City U21s, 7pm. Wednesday: Under-18 Premier League: City vs Southampton, 11am.