Manchester City’s last outing was a hugely disappointing 3-1 defeat in the Champions League against Real Madrid. It saw the Citizens crash out of the premium European club competition in a frustrating manner, losing 6-3 on aggregate.
A phenomenal Kylian Mbappe hattrick was enough to sink Pep Guardiola’s side, with the French forward scoring three superb goals, including a lob over goalkeeper Ederson and a lovely strike from range with his weaker left foot to seal the treble.
City lost John Stones just minutes into the game, with the England international succumbing to injury. It was a bit of a makeshift defence for City, which included new signing Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back.
Khusanov’s performance vs. Real Madrid
So far, the Uzbekistan international has played a bit-part role in a Man City shirt. The January signing from French outfit Lens has featured four times, with his start against Madrid the first time he has played in the Champions League for City.
However, it was a tough night at the office for Khusanov against Los Blancos. Defending against Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, a quartet often quite fluid in their rotations, you could not have really asked for a tougher assignment.
In fact, the youngster received a 3/10 for his performance against the Spanish giants, courtesy of Goal. Richard Martin said Khusanov ‘was tortured from start to finish’ by the likes of Mbappe and Vinicius.
Chalkboard
When the Frenchman received the ball for his second goal, it came to him after City’s number 45 had the ball poked through his legs by Rodrygo.
It was certainly a baptism of fire in the Champions League for the first time donning that famous Blue shirt. It will be interesting to see if Guardiola keeps him in the side for the heavyweight clash with Liverpool on Sunday.
The same thing could be said for another City defender, who also struggled against Madrid.
The City player who could be dropped against Liverpool
When you’re defending against the likes of Mbappe, Bellingham, Vinicius and Rodrygo, it is never going to be easy. Khusanov found that out first-hand, but perhaps no one can relate more than Josko Gvardiol.
If Khusanov had a tough night, then Gvardiol certainly did. He was, in many ways, embarrassed by Madrid’s hattrick hero, who sat him down for his second goal, moments after the Uzbek defender was nutmegged by Rodrygo.
With Gvardiol sliding in for a challenge on Mbappe, the Madrid number nine simply shifted the ball from his left foot to his right, and watched as the Croatian defender slid past him and ended up on his back. Gvardiol could only watch as Mbappe slotted home,
It was a poor performance from City’s left-back at the Santiago Bernabeu. He received a 4/10 from Martin, which was justified when looking at his stats on Sofascore.
He won just five out of 14 ground duels and was dribbled past twice, including for Mbappe’s second goal.
Stat
Number
Touches
69
Pass accuracy
90%
Ground duels won
4/12
Aerial duels won
1/2
Tackles won
2/4
Number of times balls lost
8
Fouls committed
3
Sadly for Gvardiol, there will be no respite this weekend against the Premier League leaders, Liverpool. Should he get the nod at left-back again, he will have to face one of the most in-form players in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah.
The Reds’ number 11 has 29 goals and 20 assists in just 37 games in all competitions this season, playing as a right-winger. That means Gvardiol will come up directly against the Egyptian international.
Perhaps Guardiola will decide not to risk his number 24. After being embarrassed by Mbappe, there is no reason to say why the same will not happen against another world-class attacker.
This is a crucial game for City in their fight for a top-four spot, and perhaps the City boss will want a more watertight defence.
It would not be hard to argue against dropping Gvardiol for the clash at the Etihad Stadium. The left-back has not been playing to the high levels he can hit, and City might need someone else in better form to help keep someone like Salah quiet.
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