Riyad Mahrez Makes The Case To Start More Manchester City Games

Since joining Manchester City in Summer 2018 for a club record fee of £60 million, Riyad Mahrez has  divided opinion amongst City fans with his performances.

Many Manchester City fans feel Mahrez has so far underwhelmed in the games he has played and believe he has repeatedly chosen the wrong option when he has had the ball at his feet during attacks. City fans feel Mahrez has regularly shot at goal when a pass would have been a better option and that he has decided to pass when he should have had a shot.

However the statistics surrounding Mahrez’s performances so far this season are telling a different story. In 2018/19 across all different competitions, Mahrez has made a total of 35 appearances during which he has scored 10 goals and achieved 10 assists. This gives him a grand total of 20 goal involvements in just 35 games.

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Those are pretty impressive statistics for any player, but the problem for Mahrez is that some of his colleagues are achieving slightly more. Leroy Sane has 26 goal involvements in 32 appearances and Raheem Sterling has 29 goal involvements in 33 appearances. So what Mahrez is achieving is very good but he is not quite operating at the level of Sane and Sterling.

Now then when City fans are getting frustrated with Mahrez that is all they are saying – Sane and Sterling are currently being more clinical with the chances they are creating. But of course this is Mahrez’s first season playing in an attacking side like ours and it may take him a little time to adjust to how we play.

Mahrez is also being repeatedly deployed on the right hand side at City but as a left footed player this does seem to mean he comes inside from the wing with the ball on his preferred foot. This move can become a little repetitious for the fans but I think he tends to look best on the left wing. Some of his best goals for Leicester and City have been scored as he has come inside from the left. Indeed it was such a move which resulted in his goal against Newport County.

Mahrez has scored with some regularity at City now -notching a goal in each of his last 4 appearances. In his press conference prior to the Newport game, Guardiola said he thought Mahrez would benefit from an extended run out in the Manchester City team at this time to build his confidence and performance level.

So right now Mahrez has delivered an impressive array of statistics and has probably earnt the right to start a number of games. But right now though, as all 4 competitions remain in focus Guardiola will have to rotate his players to keep them fresh for the trials and tribulations ahead. So Mahrez may not get the regular starts he craves. Instead he will have to bide his time and make his contributions continue to count. But if he keeps his head down and continues to work hard then he may just find this is the most successful season of his footballing career.