Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna has called on his teammates to follow Yaya Toure’s lead as they prepare to face Everton in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
The two Premier League teams meet at Goodison Park as they bid to win the right to face either Stoke City or Liverpool in the final at Wembley in February.
City’s away form – which had seen it win only two of its last nine matches on the road in all competitions – had become a serious concern prior to a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Watford on Saturday that was sparked by Toure’s impressive equalizer.
Sagna feels the in-form midfielder is showing his team the way in the absence of regular captain Vincent Kompany – who continues to struggle with a calf problem – after scoring three times in his last four matches.
“He is a very important player for us,” the former Arsenal defender said of Toure. “He is our captain while Kompany is away and he scored a great goal – he also scored against Sunderland and Arsenal. Of course he will get criticism because two seasons ago he scored 20 to 25 goals and people are expecting him to do the same but he is very important in our system.
“He cannot be on top and score in every single game but he did it at Watford and has been doing that in the last few games. Yaya has been very important to the team, and we all trust him. He is also one of the leaders in the team. We have a few – Vincent is one, as are Joe [Hart] and Yaya, but we all have to step up.”