City may be on the rise, but Mahrez's yet to find his place in Pep's side

Blessed are they living in the days of Pep Guardiola. To say the Spaniard is one of best football managers in our time is simply an understatement. They are so many sides of the 48-year-old that has made it so difficult to describe him nor his football philosophy in words. He wowed the universe at Barcelona, overseeing a tiki-taka style of play that seemed impossible to contend with at Barcelona, implemented a totally different style at Bayern Munich and now changes formations, players and approaches almost every other match at City. A few things remain constant, his sides dominate possession, they fight and play like possessed men always wanting more despite the scoreline and they win. Dominantly overcoming Arsenal 3-1, Everton 2-0 and Chelsea 6-0 in a space of 7 days is beyond remarkable. But this piece is not about Pep and his masterclass, there is enough about that already.

“Even more, his style of play of running down the wing, cutting inside and shooting at goal is yet to fully come alive at the Etihad. He has never been that tough tackling player who tracks down opponents or rushes for the press, attributes that have become consistent in all of Pep’s most favored players and overall philosophy. Does he have to adapt or will Pep adapt to the Algerian’s default attributes?”

— Dennis Takaendesa, FirstTouch Africa

Not quite there

Algerian playmaker, Riyad Mahrez, arrived at the blue side of Manchester last summer, in a record £60 million deal for the club. After a failed attempt to get the 27-year-old in January of 2018, Pep Guardiola finally got his man a few months after and indeed a welcome move for Mahrez and all the neutrals. Many had seen him chop and nutmeg premier league professionals, more so in Leicester City’s record breaking season and began to wonder how much more he could produce if surrounded by players of the calibre of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane. Even though Mahrez has 5 premier league goals and 2 assists to his name in only 10 appearances, on top of 4 assists and a goal in 3 champions league matches, he is still far from his best. It’s difficult not to recognise his discomfort and grind to cement his place in Guardiola’ setup, one that a record signing is expected to.

Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City looks dejected after the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City at Anfield on October 7, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

(Oct. 6, 2018 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)

Really?

It’s no surprise that the winger has been less pronounced in conversations featuring Africa’s current best batch. Names such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah have been thrown in that hat and serve as a testament that one needs to be scoring goals and getting regular game time for whatever club they play for inorder to fit the description. It’s true that Pep switches up his players quite a lot, but equally rewards the most outstanding performers with regular minutes as well. Riyad came on as a substitute in City’s 6-0 thrashing of Chelsea and half-completed passes, lost possession and tame shots at goal revealed the forward’s confidence levels and current status. Even more, his style of play of running down the wing, cutting inside and shooting at goal is yet to fully come alive at the Etihad. He has never been that tough tackling player who tracks down opponents or rushes for the press, attributes that have become consistent in all of Pep’s most favored players and overall philosophy. Does he have to adapt or will Pep adapt to the Algerian’s default attributes?

More than a glimmer of hope

It seems as though Pep has the touch of the ancient Greek king, Midas. Whatever he touches turns into gold. It’s difficult to find a player especially recruited by the Spaniard who hasn’t improved over time. When he has no plans with one, he makes that abundantly clear and ships them out as he did with Ivorian legend, Yaya Toure. The fact that he signed Riyad for so much money means he knows when and how the playmaker will aid the team’s progress. Looking at Bernardo Silva for example, the 24-year-old looked a misfit for the better part of the 2017/18 season but is now almost an indispensable member of the team, with the gaffer remarking that his team is made up of Bernardo and ten other players.

The start to life at City hasn’t been great for Riyad but it will most certainly get only better from here.

Liverpool vs Man City, the tale of two North Africans

The most followed football league on the face of the earth returns this weekend. Two of the three teams yet to lose a premier league game face-off on Sunday at one of the most electric atmospheres in the world of football, Anfield. One of the team are the reigning EPL champion while the other has not tasted some silverware since 2012. They however made the UEFA Champions League in the 2017/18 campaign and look like a club that is on the up. Manchester City and Liverpool have almost made lightwork of all premier league opposition so far, tied on points at the top of the table with only goal difference separating them - Sunday will properly separate the two. The winner will lay a huge marker for the 2018/19 title. What else should we expect?

A pertinent question to all the defenders picked of Sunday will be on how to stop two Arab brothers if there are both unleashed for the contest.

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom.

(Sept. 28, 2018 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)

Mohamed Salah

The 26-year-old needs no introduction. Salah became the first African since George Weah to be shortlisted for FIFA’s prime individual accolade for a top male footballer, eventually getting pipped to the award by Croatia’s Luka Modric. He still won the FIFA Puskas Award though, for scoring the best goal for the 2017-2018 season. Today, we are not going to go deep into his fairytale debut season last year with Liverpool but about what’s at stake right now. Liverpool suffered an embarrassing 1-0 loss at Napoli midweek in the Champions League after a lifeless performance in Naples. They have not won all their last three matches in all competitions against Napoli and Chelsea after winning all of their opening matches. The fable that they were bullying lesser teams looks like a reality at the face of the most recent results. The face of that Liverpool side, failing to win has been arguably Salah - who did not score a single goal in those matches. With high expectations on him to repeat the ridiculous feat of last season, he looks like he may be contending with the pressure that comes with it. Naysayers have already made him news headlines on several platforms. It all comes down to this weekend, with Liverpool keen to go back to winning ways and have a go at the current champions, making their case for being future champions and Salah also keen to go back on the scoresheet and remind the world and Anfield that silverware is what they are after; that they will beat the best if they have to. A scoring Salah will easily be considered to be consistent with a Liverpool that means business.

Riyad Mahrez

Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Oxford United and Manchester City at Kassam Stadium on September 25, 2018 in Oxford, England.

(Sept. 24, 2018 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)

This North African knows one or two things about winning silverwares. He has his own fairytale to reminisce, that narrates the unbelievable 2015/16 epl triumph by Leicester City. Riyad pulled all the strings in that Leicester side, aiding Jamie Vardy’s development to be a prolific striker. Unlike Salah, he is not City’s face, at least not for now. After switching to Manchester this summer in deal that made him the club’s record signing, the 27-year-old is yet to secure a regular starting position in Guardiola’s team. It cannot be any easier now, with Kevin De Bruyne expected to return to the side after being sidelined with injury. Mahrez’s favorite position over the years has grown to be the right wing, where he can cut inside with his left foot and from time to time, smash the ball to the far bottom corner beyond the goalkeeper’s reach. The chop and score has become the Mahrez trademark move. England’s Raheem Sterling has been quite efficient in that right wing position, scoring four times and assisting two others in six premier league starts. Bernardo Silva has on occasion, been deployed in that position as well and could continue in that light, now that David Silva and De Bruyne look to be picking up their protagonistic roles once again. Put simply, competition for Mahrez at City is quite tough. Whether he gets a starting role on Sunday, only Pep knows. What’s apparent is that he will have a mark on the game. He has to in his journeying of impressing the gaffer. He has scored a total of three goals in all of his three starts for City this campaign. Actually, two of the goals were from the bench against Cardiff. He is ready, starting or otherwise - he is looking to influence.

Last time out

The most recent Liverpool and Manchester City match in the premier league finished 4-3 after Liverpool had leaped to a 4-1 lead with both Salah and Mane getting their names on the score sheet. Liverpool inflicted City’s first defeat of the season last time;will Salah lead Liverpool to do it again or will Mahrez move not to allow it?

“A pertinent question to all the defenders picked of Sunday will be on how to stop two Arab brothers if there are both unleashed for the contest.”

— Dennis Takaendesa, FirstTouch Africa