Joao Cancelo marked his Bayern Munich debut by registering a superb assist just 18 minutes into his surprise loan spell.
The Portuguese right-back, 28, suddenly joined the German giants until the end of the season on Tuesday after an alleged fallout with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Cancelo hadn't been happy with his lack of game-time at the Etihad so far this term and after reportedly voicing his displeasure, the defender was told that he was welcome to leave the club before transfer deadline day.
A rapid move to Munich was soon engineered and judging by the excellent start that he's had, Bayern will be keen to take up their option to buy for €70million (£62.1m) when the summer window opens. Handed a start on Wednesday evening by new manager Julian Nagelsmann, Cancelo assisted striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to put the Bundesliga champions 1-0 up in their DFB-Pokal clash away to Mainz.
Picking up the ball on his favoured right-hand flank, the Portugal international bound forward and toyed with marker Aaron Caricol, as Bayern's attackers flooded the Mainz penalty area. Despite sharing only one training session, his team-mates knew what to expect, with Cancelo proceeding to deliver a sumptuous cross towards the back post.
That was where Choupo-Moting was waiting and the Cameroonian marksman duly volleyed home with a cool left-footed finish. Choupo-Moting came over to thank Cancelo for his pinpoint delivery, the kind of cross which City fans have enjoyed seeing since his move from Juventus in August 2019, as Bayern went into half-time 3-0 up and the struggling Caricol was ruthlessly subbed off.
But the Citizens will now have to get used to the 28-year-old playing his football elsewhere, as Cancelo is claimed to have angrily reacted to Guardiola's decision to bench him for Friday's FA Cup fourth-hand clash with Arsenal. His form had taken a significant drop-off over the autumn months, losing his place in both the City side and Portugal's starting XI at the World Cup.
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The Benfica academy graduate, who's also starred for Valencia and Inter Milan throughout his trophy-laden career, insists that he made the move to Munich in search of more minutes. "I've not had much game time in the past few weeks, which influenced my decision. There was speculation that my relationship with Pep was not the best but fact is I wanted to play more," Cancelo stated.
"I really wanted to embark on this new adventure at such a club with such a big history. It's a dream for me. I'm very happy to be here and to show my footballing qualities. I know that this club, this team, lives for titles and wins titles every year. I'm also driven by the hunger for success."
