Whilst Manchester City have started the season in fine form, one key player has been somewhat underwhelming so far. Riyad Mahrez has been an enormous part of City’s success in recent seasons, and alongside Phil Foden has been far and away one of the best two wingers at the club.
After a slow start in his first season, the Algerian was a crucial part of two Premier League titles and City ’s runs to the Champions League final and semi-final. He scored more goals than any other City player last season, with 24, whilst his 14 the season before was bettered only by Phil Foden and Ilkay Gündogan.
However, this season has seen a significant drop-off from the high standards set in the last two years. Not only is Mahrez scoring and assisting less frequently, but he has looked a yard off the pace and has struggled to even get onto the pitch at times.
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Even the usually protective Pep Guardiola felt it necessary to explain Mahrez’s absence publicly, saying “He has to come back in a better physical condition”. Fortunately, rather than upsetting the 31-year-old, this has seemingly energised him, and the improvement in recent weeks, though gradual has been clear for all to see.
The 2-0 win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup saw Mahrez put in what was far and away his best performance of the season, looking comfortable and involved from the beginning of the game. Not only did he get a goal for the second game in a row and his fourth in his last seven games for the club; but he was taking players on and instead of being isolated on the fringes of the game, much of the play was flowing through him on the right.
Only Jack Grealish saw more attacking involvements in the game, which was mostly down to the six shots he took himself. Mahrez by contrast put in an all-around offensive display, having three shots of his own, creating three chances and being heavily involved in the build-up to two more shots. It was also from Mahrez’s shot that Julian Alvarez scored the second goal of the game, sweeping home the rebound from Edouard Mendy’s save.
Of course, one or two good games does not mean that the poor form is behind him necessarily, but these last few appearances have certainly been a step in the right direction. It is also vindication for Pep Guardiola’s tendency to play players out of bad form, rather than benching them and only letting them work on it in training.
Whilst it can be frustrating for fans, it does seem to work much more effectively than the alternative. Both Mahrez and Jack Grealish playing together has seen some of the least effective attacking performances that this City side has produced this season, yet in recent weeks, after being afforded time on the field to find their feet both have really begun to step up and contribute.
In fairness to Mahrez specifically, with Joao Cancelo on the opposite side and Kyle Walker injured, this means that his full-back on the right tends to come inside and does not tend to overlap or attempt to get involved in attacks, limiting his options compared to his opposite number on the left.
It is for this reason that attacks tend to flow down the left when Mahrez is on the pitch, as they drag the defenders towards his side then switch the play and exploit the space created. This could also be part of the reason why Mahrez looked so much better last night, as Rico Lewis provided constant support with overlapping and underlapping runs drawing defenders away and creating space for Mahrez to take a man on, or to lay it off for a teammate in space.
One other aspect to consider is that the Algerian has had less playing time to adjust to the arrival of Erling Haaland than many of his teammates, and this could be affecting his game. Bizarrely, instead of taking advantage of having a striker in the box, especially one standing at 6’4’’, Mahrez has been attempting to cross the ball less this season than last season, when City played the majority of the season with no striker at all.
The more time he spends on the pitch with the Norwegian, the more chemistry they will form and presumably Mahrez’s performance will surely only improve as this process continues.
One final factor to note is that, similar to Grealish, the role Mahrez is being asked to play in the side is contributing to what appear on the face of it to be quiet performances, when he is in fact doing exactly what the manager has asked him to do.
This is often overlooked in discussions of both Mahrez and Grealish and makes much of the criticism faced by the pair very harsh as they are essentially doing exactly as they have been asked. Mahrez, even more so than Grealish, is a ‘control’ player in this City side, with his touch and close control enabling him to keep the ball under pressure and allow more players to join the attack.
Whilst some see this as slowing the game down and an example of the side getting in their own way, Guardiola sees this as necessary to ensure that the team are in position to deal with counter-attacks should the ball be lost.
Though this cannot fully excuse some of the poorer showings earlier in the season, it cannot be overlooked that Mahrez is contributing to the success of the team at his own personal expense. Now at least, it finally seems like he is hitting his stride this season and will once again be a key part of a City team attempting to challenge for silverware on all four fronts.
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