Brighton’s Mathew Ryan says Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane can’t be as tough as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez… surely?
Australia keeper hopes Man City don't repeat the misery he suffered when Barcelona beat his Valencia side 7-0 last year
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MATHEW RYAN knows that not all David versus Goliath stories end well for the little fella.
The Australia keeper is still scarred by the memory of his part in Valencia’s 7-0 thrashing by Barcelona in February 2016 — the worst result of Gary Neville’s ill-fated four-month spell in La Liga.
So it is hardly surprising he is concerned about Brighton’s Premier League debut against free-spending Manchester City going pear-shaped this afternoon.
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Until this week, Ryan was Brighton’s record signing following his recent £5.8million move to the Amex.
And though the newly promoted Seagulls have just reinforced their squad with £13.5m Jose Izquierdo and £10m Davy Propper, it does not even begin to compare with the £218m City have splurged this summer alone.
The dilemma for City boss Pep Guardiola is how to squeeze Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling into his team today.
The problem for Ryan is how to stop them.
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At least he has the experience of that Nou Camp humiliation in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, when Luis Suarez scored four and Lionel Messi three, to help him through his ordeal.
Ryan said: “People say, ‘Don’t worry, it was Messi, Suarez, Neymar and Barcelona, it can happen to anyone’. But I still look back on it as a nightmare.
“Maybe I’m crazy but I went into that game wanting to be the exception to the team that is thrashed, the one stopping them and doing well against them.
“If you are able to shut out those players, it will go down as a night to remember for the rest of your life, a great story to tell the grandkids.
“No matter how well the goalkeeper plays, it’s still possible that Barcelona have a good day and you concede five or six goals.
“But I’d never conceded more than four in a game before and I let the outcome of that game affect me.
“That night was probably my biggest lesson. You grow up thinking that when you make a mistake you can just throw the memory in the bin, but that’s easier said than done.
“It was a pretty shattered dressing room after that game and it wasn’t long afterwards that Gary Neville was sacked as the coach.
“I’d been signed by the previous coach and when Gary took over, he went with the other keepers, although I did make quite a few appearances in the Europa League and the cup games.
“He threw me into the team in the last game before an international break and I felt I would get more game time.
“But the day I arrived back from Australia I was told that Gary had been relieved of his duties, a new coach was coming in and I didn’t play another minute of that season.”
Having spent last season on loan at Genk, Ryan did not think twice when Brighton boss Chris Hughton revived his interest in him this summer.
He said: “They were keen to sign me two years ago when I was still playing for Bruges but I was happy with the way my career was going at the time and then Valencia came in and I took that opportunity.
“But with Brighton being promoted to the Premier League and the situation I found myself in at Valencia, this is the right move at the right time.
More often than not, we are going to be the underdogs this season — but we won’t go into games like this one against Manchester City thinking the worst.
“We will prepare for the best possible outcome then have a plan if it goes sour.
“But if we can take a scalp like Manchester City in our first game in the Premier League, that would give us so much confidence and set us up for all the difficult challenges ahead.”
Ryan, 25, has already played in the World Cup finals and the Confederations Cup for Australia so has no concerns about handling the big occasion.
At little more than 6ft tall, he will probably be the shortest keeper in the Premier League this season and knows he will have a job replacing fans’ favourite David Stockdale.
He said: “Stockdale set a high standard here so it’s up to me to do even better.
“That’s a good challenge for me but I can’t control how well he played, I can only focus on myself. And, hopefully, I can improve all levels of my game.
“I want to test myself at the highest level and against the best players.
“Coming into a World Cup year, I want to be on the pitch all the time, not sitting on the bench for long periods.
“I want to contribute and create great memories.”
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