Vincent Kompany calls Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart 'perfect'

Vincent Kompany has come to the defence of the "perfect" Joe Hart by insisting he remains the best goalkeeper in the country despite his glaring error to gift Norwich a goal.

Manchester City beat the promoted team 2-1 on Saturday despite the moment when Hart spilled Robbie Brady's cross to give Cameron Jerome a tap-in at the Etihad Stadium.

But skipper Kompany said it was a reminder that even Hart can make mistakes and was glad that Yaya Toure's 90th-minute winner ensured it did not cost City any points.

Kompany has no concerns about the goalkeeper's form ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Sevilla, instead he's concentrating on his fine personal form in Europe.

"You get those days," Kompany said. "Joe hasn't set a foot wrong for us in a long, long time. It's good for him that it will be forgotten because the result was good, we won.

"In the end it was not a bad day to make a mistake. Something happened for him that every goalkeeper wants -- when you make a mistake you want it cancelling out by a good result.

"You won't find a better goalkeeper in England than Joe Hart -- he has been too perfect, and we found out today he is human.

"He has been City's outstanding performer in the Champions League, but also in the Premier League last season a lot of the clean sheets were down to him."

Vincent Kompany Backs Joe Hart

The Manchester City skipper hailed the impact of England's number one goalkeeper on Monday. Hart has been in the spotlight in recent days thanks in large measure to a howler against Norwich on Saturday.

"He's been an outstanding performer for us in the Champions League over the past few seasons and last year in the Premier League, a lot of the clean sheets were down to him - if anything he's been too perfect for too long so it's good to know he's human after all.

"You won't find a better keeper than Joe in England."

"Everything we've built up over the past seven years is amazing but it's not just the highs - it's also the typical City moments that we've experienced, especially at the beginning and how we came through them that are special.

"I can't guarantee performances but I can guarantee I will always give everything I have for this club and I'm eternally grateful for the way the City fans have treated me since I arrived."

I want Joe Hart's number one spot, says Jack Butland

Jack Butland says he wants to be England's first-choice goalkeeper - and he won't wait for Joe Hart to retire in order for it to happen.

In an interview with Sky Sports, the Stoke shot-stopper said that he has huge respect for Manchester City goalkeeper Hart, a former team-mate of his from their days together at Birmingham a few years back.

Yet Butland is still determined to unseat his former idol.

"My ambition is to be England No 1 and I want to do that before Joe retires," said the 22-year-old Butland. "I don't want to be waiting that long and I hope it's not the case.

"I haven't spoken to Roy about things like that because its not time to do it. It wouldn't be respectful to Joe, who doesn't deserve to give the time up.

Butland added that he is a big fan of Hart, despite his fighting talk."But I've got to make sure my performances stay high for when the time comes."

"Joe is someone I have a massive amount of respect for. He came to Birmingham when I was 15-16, on loan for year, and he was incredible," Butland said.

"Since then he's been my role model and someone I try to emulate. But things have changed a bit since then so I'd like to keep performing and try and put pressure on him in that squad for sure.

"I'm very much behind him in terms of experience so I'm not going to bite off more than I can chew."

No more Champions League naivety, says City's Hart

Manchester City's 3-1 Champions League win at Sevilla shows the Premier League side have moved past the "reckless" and "naive" displays that caused them to stumble in previous campaigns, goalkeeper Joe Hart has said.

The win on Tuesday means City have sealed a place in the last 16 with two games to spare, and Hart believes the performance will give them the confidence to top their group.

Hart hailed City's display as "the right way to play" after goals from Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho and Wilfried Bony gave them the convincing win.

"We set up well, we defended well, and we took our chances well," he said.

"It's pretty simple but sometimes ... we've been a little reckless; I think Vinny's (captain Vincent Kompany) said it a few times - we've been a little bit naive and been caught out."

City still have to travel to Italy to face Juventus before hosting German side Borussia Moenchengladbach at the Etihad Stadium, but Hart said the pressure was off.

"I imagine it will be a lot easier ... It's a different way to look at it this time, we can set up a little bit different and we don't have to be as vulnerable," he added.

Since Arab billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought the club in 2008, City have qualified for the Champions League five times but have never topped their group.

They have failed to reach the knockout stages twice and were dumped out in the round of 16 by Barcelona on two other occasions.

While topping Group D could help them avoid clashing with another European heavyweight in the next round, Hart is not too concerned about who they will face.

"We're in the competition to win it so at some point we're going to have to play one of those strong teams," he said.

City now have to turn their attention to the Premier League and Saturday's game against Aston Villa. They top the table only on goal difference ahead of Arsenal and Hart said there was no margin for error.

"We're in Champions League mode but we go to Aston Villa with Arsenal playing well .... We need a result now at Villa," he said.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Joe Hart consigns Manchester City’s reckless and naive days to the past

Joe Hart believes Manchester City’s impressive victory at Sevilla may have finally put reckless and naive displays in the Champions League behind them and said the team are confident that they can win Group D.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side won a third consecutive match in the competition through goals from Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho and Wilfried Bony. The manager selected Fernandinho and Fernando as the central pairing with Yaya Touré more advanced, only the second time this season he has done so. The strategy paid off as City controlled the majority of the play, the robust three-man midfield complementing the attack of Sterling, Bony and Jesús Navas.

Completing a double over Sevilla took Pellegrini’s side to nine points, one ahead of Juventus, whose draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach meant the German side as well as Sevilla cannot overtake City, confirming their place in the knockout stage. Winning the group would improve their chances of avoiding tough opponents in the last 16, in which they have been eliminated by Barcelona in each of the past two seasons. Yet Hart said: “We’re in the competition to win it so at some point we’re going to have to play one of those strong teams.”

The goalkeeper said the display against Sevilla could be the benchmark. “In certain games and [against Sevilla] it was the right way to play. We set up well, we defended well, and we took our chances well. It’s pretty simple but sometimes we’ve not played to that gameplan – we’ve been a little reckless; I think Vinny’s [Kompany] said it a few times: we’ve been a little bit naive and been caught out. But we’ve been really solid – they only had a couple of chances and we took ours.”

Hart said the manner of the victory gives City confidence they can top the group – “Yeah, of course, but it’s difficult” – though Sunday’s Premier League game is also on his mind: “We’re in Champions League mode but we go to Aston Villa with Arsenal playing well, Manchester United won [in the Champions League], Tottenham are playing well. We need a result now at Villa.”

He believes the last two group matches, at Juventus then at home to Mönchengladbach, will not be as difficult now qualification has been sealed. “I imagine it will be a lot easier. But speak to our fans – as much pain as we put them through, they enjoy the ride. I enjoy the ride. It’s a different way to look at it this time, we can set up a little bit different and we don’t have to be as vulnerable.

“It was our most accomplished display, against a really confident Sevilla side who play with a lot of attacking intent. They were one of the teams we were supposedly going to struggle against – that’s two wins now and we’re top and looking to try to win it. Without playing really well in the Premier League we’re [also] top.

“There’s only one way to look at it, and that’s in a positive way. We’ve played well against some good teams and we beat Gladbach and didn’t play particularly well, we didn’t really play that well against Sevilla at home and won. So these are big results when not playing well.”

The performance against Unai Emery’s team came despite David Silva and Sergio Agüero being injured. Hart said: “It’s not really about proving people wrong, it’s about doing well in the competition and we can look at that positively. After the international break we’re looking to have Sergio, David, Samir fit. Gaël is now fit, Fabian Delph is now fit. We’ve put ourselves in a really strong position.

“I wouldn’t say we go out to entertain, we’ve just got some really good attacking players and everyone wants to score. Again with the balance I think that’s when we play our best football. When we beat Chelsea this year [3-0 in August] we were very balanced, the result against Newcastle [6-1 in October] … even when we’ve won big we’ve been balanced, so it’s definitely what we’ve achieved that we didn’t last year.”