Riyad Mahrez has, of late, has been the form player in the Manchester City squad, scoring five goals in his last five appearances. Alongside this he is playing with a higher intensity and his skill and dribbling ability allows him to beat any defender.
He has accumulated minutes since the return of the Premier League post-World Cup, playing three 90-minute matches, which he had only done once all season in a 4-0 victory at home to Bournemouth in match week 2.
Since arriving at City in 2018 Mahrez has been a consistently high performer, but after a slow start for him at the start of this Premier League season he now seems to have taken his performances to the next level. The World Cup break is arguably what Mahrez needed to allow him to focus on his own training to help him re-discover form of previous years.
READ MORE: Man City predicted line-up vs Wolves
With other teammates on International duty with their respective countries, some were left out of the team shortly after the World Cup paving the way for Mahrez to get back into Pep Guardiola’s starting eleven. which saw him make a statement performance against Leeds United and eventually keeping his position in the team for the subsequent game against Everton.
It is apparent that City have not been performing to the level we have seen in recent years, however the Algerian international has stood out from the crowd through the performances he has been putting in. Scoring in wins against Chelsea and Spurs in the league and scoring a brace in a third-round FA Cup clash, he has re-discovered the form of previous years since the end of the World Cup.
The confidence with which he is playing could be seen in his first goal of the night on Thursday, as he put City 3-2 up with a superb solo effort as he weaved his way through the Spurs defence and finishing superbly at the near post.
A strong performance was signed off with his second goal of the night as a mistake by Clement Lenglet was seized upon by the rampant Algerian and converted confidently with a chip into the back of the Spurs net.
The Algerian will be hoping to keep his place in the team as they head into their weekend fixture against Wolves. In the form he is currently in he will fancy his chances of adding to his tally of goals against a team sitting just outside the relegation zone, and defensively Wolves may struggle to contain him
Following City’s date against the Midlands side on Sunday, games against Tottenham and Aston Villa follow in the league where he will fancy his chances of accumulating more minutes.
Despite losing the likes of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus in the summer to rival clubs, Manchester City still have an abundance of quality in the winger positions. With the likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva it is clear they are inundated with players who can play that position. But if Mahrez keeps his good performances, he may give his manager little option but to keep playing him.
READ NEXT:
