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Goalkeeper Burton had the busiest day of his career two weeks ago as he was preparing Wednesday for the Carabao Cup second leg match, head held high.
For many, conceding nine goals in a match would be an experience to forget, but for Burton Albion goaltender Bradley Collins, Manchester City's 9-0 win was a memorable one.
Collins, who is on loan to Burton by Chelsea, had a disastrous glimpse of what is needed to reach the highest level while City was unleashed in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Etihad Stadium. two weeks.
Pep Guardiola showed respect to Burton, in League One, by lining up a team of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane, ensuring his biggest joint win as manager.
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After eliminating Premier League teams Burnley, as well as Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough championship clubs, en route to the game against City in the past four games, Burton has had no chance of causing another surprise.
Collins, who is one of the 40 players on loan to Chelsea, had extended his contract to Burton only seven days before the City match, after successfully establishing himself as the first goalkeeper. choice of the team.
The 21-year-old was seen talking to Guardiola, former coach of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, after the match and insisted that despite the score, it was a memorable day.
"He said:" difficult night? "I simply said" yes. "Then he explained how incredible it was for us to reach the semifinals," Collins said. Goalas he revealed the kind words of Guardiola on a heavy defeat. "He said we were a credit to ourselves and said the same to the staff.
"It was good to have it." He could have appreciated the goals for himself but no, he had time for us, which was great, when a manager of this stature respects us .
"I was thinking of" wow "at the final whistle, which is the first time I play against a team that is as good, it just shows the level of here and there. It's really scary I really enjoyed it but I was emptied at the same time.
"We deserved to be where we were and beat some of the top teams in the semifinals, so I think the race was excellent, for me, personally, I wanted them to show us respect and choose their best players – no disrespect to any of their other players, but that's what they did.
"The three before [Sane, Jesus and Mahrez] and midfielder three [De Bruyne, Silva and Gundogan] were all amazing players and that's what we wanted to test ourselves.
"We're just scared tonight of not approaching them, I think if you look at the results this season, the number of times they've scored five goals or more at home is ridiculous, I know we could maybe have reduced the number of goals at a different party.
"At the end of the day, you have to pay tribute to them, it's an awesome team, it was a difficult night, but I still enjoyed it … I'm proud of the boys for doing it."
"I think the comeback is a matter of pride, having that little laugh between your teeth, having pride for yourself, your family, the club and our fans, who knows when Burton will be in the semifinals. Such a competition? Nobody knows, we just have to make the club proud. "
Burton head coach Nigel Clough said the 21-year-old goalkeeper did not have to blame his goalie as his team became the last in a long line of teams heavy defeat against the Premier League champions.
"Compared to last season, when I was in Ligue 2, the quality is much better," he added. "I think Forest Green has prepared me for this year last year." It was a very important learning curve last season, and Forest Green went from the National League to Ligue 2. It's my first loan when I was young.
"It was very difficult for me, I think I made a lot of mistakes last year, but I feel like I learned from this year, I feel more comfortable Now I feel more comfortable, I talk a little more about players, coaches and fans.
"There's nothing like that in academic football, it's hard to make fans scream at you, it should not matter, but it's the case." people who work in football lose money, mortgages, there is nothing to lose You notice that as soon as you take a loan.
"When I first arrived at Forest Green, the goalkeeper who was already there at the time was a fan favorite and I got there right away, it was against the I have not started the season well since then, there were a few people who were on my back and that was my first loan.
"Then, after Christmas, I feel like I just changed it, I started and everything seemed to unite and we survived the relegation, the fans were behind me and it was great at the end. I came out of academic football playing 20 games, then I started in men's football and played 47 games. "
This is a great year for Collins, whose contract at Burton expires at the same time as his current contract with Chelsea. Like many members of the world-renowned academy's Cobham Training Center in Surrey, Collins has won numerous trophies.
Two UEFA youth leagues, a FA youth cup and a Premier League under-21 champion's medal. He has since scored more than 1,500 minutes of goals this season, averaging just one goal each game, to chart his own path.
Collins was not discouraged after being sidelined by the Portsmouth Youth Team while he was young and that he had not been signed during his training with Southampton, as he was looking to play in goals mainly for the pleasure.
This is an attitude he is adopting with him today, but he is grateful that he was able to watch Petr Cech closer than anyone behind closed doors, as the former Chelsea goalie is about to withdraw from football at the end of the season.
"I think at this age, everyone just wants to play football," Collins said. "I do not think you thought too much about it, I did not think of becoming a footballer or wanting to play football in this academy, I just played football because I liked it.
"It was important to keep the fun there. I trained in Southampton for three or four weeks. I just trained and happy. I did not think of anything else. When Chelsea arrived, it was a case where I had to seize the opportunity, it was almost like an instinct.
"I'm not one of those who were desperately trying to get into an academy, I got this offer and it's a club of scale, so why would you refuse that?" Went well!
"Being in Chelsea, my model has always been Petr Cech, you are attending a Chelsea game when I became a member and you watched Petr Cech, I did not watch him as a goalkeeper and I did not see him. I tried to copy it.I have Petr Cech I wanted to learn from him and I'm lucky he's also a very nice guy. "
From Jamal Blackman, Nathan Baxter, Matej Delac; All goalkeepers echoed Collins' words and came to the Chelsea Academy, who enjoyed the time Cech spent talking to them throughout their match and that respect for the Czech Republic is not forgotten.
Meanwhile, what's next for Collins in his tenancy career in Chelsea? He thinks only to push for Burton to participate in the play-offs and hopes to return to the championship.
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"Burton was eliminated from the championship last season, so we have a very, very good team here, we have not found the missing piece of the puzzle yet, but we have a hard time seeing our games. the impression that we are starting to find it and hope to find it soon.
"The league is still the most important and is always in. It is good to be in the semifinals and to get there, but we want to push for the playoffs. "
Ignoring the pressure and wanting to enjoy every minute is perhaps what will allow Collins to stay strong enough for a long career in professional football.
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