Cancelo’s value soars as City resumes Champions League quest

By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer

It seems incredible that the Portugal full back Joao Cancelo was deemed surplus to requirements by Manchester City for last season’s Champions League final given his new-found importance to the team. Cancelo was an unused sub for the 1-0 loss to Chelsea after dropping out of City’s team in the final months of the season. Pep Guardiola has spoken about friction with Cancelo and the player’s initial struggles with City’s style of play and unhappiness at being rotated. Now there’s no chance of Cancelo not being in the team should City make it to the final again this year. The road to the final resumes with City playing Sporting in the last 16 on Tuesday.