When Manchester City were awarded a penalty toward the end of the first half against Aston Villa, Riyad Mahrez knew just where to go.
Rodri hared off in pursuit of the ball as he fancied another stab at maintaining his 100 per cent record for the club - despite the fact that his one previous effort, while successful, was so bad that Pep Guardiola said that the midfielder would not be taking them again. Find someone with the confidence that Rodri has to take penalties after all that.
Mahrez knew though that while the ball is important for taking a penalty, it is useless without the spot. The City winger headed straight for the place where the kick would be taken to mark his territory and wait for the ball to come to him.
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In truth, there was some overreaching from Mahrez here as well. Guardiola was not particularly pleased after the game, saying that Erling Haaland was his choice to take it as the club's main taker and suggesting words would be had.
The manager had said earlier in the season that it was time for Mahrez to stand down from penalty duties for a while after he had missed twice in Champions League games that City ended up drawing. It has been over three months since then, but Haaland has scored every one he has taken this season.
However, while it is unclear why Haaland did not take the spot-kick - perhaps if he had a kick to his standing leg he did not fancy it - the significant bit is that captain Ilkay Gundogan sided with Mahrez. He made sure that Rodri reluctantly gave the ball up to City's No.26 and the team did not have to wait long before they were celebrating a third goal.
Among the many other ways in which Mahrez is impressing at the minute, it is one thing to have the confidence to take a penalty after a setback but, as Rodri showed, it is another to have the trust of your teammates that you are the best option. It is to the serious credit of the Algerian that he was given that backing, which will only grow after seeing him successfully convert the spot-kick.
A criticism of the team this season has been that the goal contributions have been too dependent on Haaland, with the striker scoring a dominant share of the goals as well as chipping in with assists. With the form Mahrez is in, he could easily reach or surpass last season's figures; after 24 goals in all competitions and nine assists last year, he is currently tracking on 11 goals and five assists with just under half of the campaign to go.
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