Those were Pep Guardiola’s words on the eve of Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea last month.
Thomas Tuchel’s forward line was led by Romelu Lukaku and prior to the game, the Catalan noted that the goals must be spread amongst his City side, who cannot call on the services of one recognised out and out striker.
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That has been the case for some time at the Etihad Stadium.
Injury robbed Guardiola of the services of Club record marksman Sergio Aguero during the 2020-21 season, when the Argentine started just eight games, but City still outscored the rest of the Premier League to win a third title in four years.
Collective effort was crucial in that memorable campaign and, on the goalscoring front, City have started this season in a similar vein.
Following the 5-1 win over Club Brugge, 15 different players have scored for City in all competitions so far this season.
All of our attacking players have hit the back of the net, with Riyad Mahrez leading the way on six goals, whilst Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne are all tied on three apiece.
Ruben Dias, Fernandinho, John Stones and Oleksandr Zinchenko are the only outfield players yet to net in a side which has more goalscorers than any other team in the Premier League.
Chelsea (13) are second on the list, whilst Aston Villa and Liverpool (both 10) are the only other teams to reach double digits.
Our remarkable spread of goals is testament to Guardiola’s innovative philosophy.
The 50-year-old encourages every player, even Ederson, to have an influence on City’s attacking play and that was particularly evident against Brugge, where Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker both made lung busting forward runs to get themselves on the scoresheet.
Their strikes, along with young Cole Palmer’s wonderful effort, highlighted how the entire squad carries a goal threat and that is exactly what Guardiola wants from his team.
“We don’t have a real striker to score 25 goals,” he said, as he repeated the message at his post-match press conference.
“I have to put as much players as possible close to the box who have the sense to score goals. He [Phil Foden] is one of the guys, Raheem [Sterling] is one of the guys, Riyad is one of the guys, [Ilkay] Gundogan is one of the guys.
“I encourage Bernardo [Silva] and Kevin to be more there in those positions.”
Five of those six players hit double figures as City marched towards a Premier League and Carabao Cup double last season, and our early form has reminded everyone that the defending Premier League champions really do carry a goal threat from all over the pitch.
