Everton 1-3 Manchester City: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | Premier League 2019/20

#3 Riyad Mahrez dazzles under the Goodison lights

Mahrez was sensational against Everton

A summer ago, Manchester City splashed the cash to acquire Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City. At that time, several felt that the purchase was a touch superfluous, considering that Brahim Diaz and Phil Foden’s playing time would’ve reduced enormously.

To an extent, those criticisms rang true for quite a part of the 2018-19 season, a term which the Algerian didn’t set ablaze.

However, as the campaign traversed into its final stretch, the forward started influencing games a tad more, meaning that the earlier doubters were being proved otherwise.

The aforementioned run of games culminated with Mahrez scoring a crucial goal at Brighton on the final day which eventually allowed City to clinch the title.

Thus, numerous people expected the Algerian to continue on that upward trend and scale further peaks in 2019-20. And, it’s fair to say that the forward hasn’t disappointed on those counts.

The Algerian has been buzzing ever since the term started and has provided another dimension to the City attack, a prospect many felt was improbable.

Against Everton, Mahrez displayed similar characteristics as he turned in a remarkable performance.

Deployed on the right flank, the Algerian caused Lucas Digne problems throughout the evening as the former alternated between cutting inside and getting to the by-line.

The forward capped off his display with a sizzling free-kick in the 71st minute when he curled the ball past the wall and beyond the outstretched palms of Pickford.

He created several chances for his teammates too and had Ilkay Gundogan and Sterling not been so profligate, the Algerian could’ve bagged himself a couple of assists.

Ever since Pep Guardiola moved to the blue half of Manchester, he has managed to unearth a gem in each of his title-winning seasons.

While the Spaniard’s full-backs enormously improved in 2017-18, Bernardo Silva’s usage as a central midfielder captured the footballing fraternity’s imagination in 2018-19.

And, one feels that Mahrez’s reinvigoration and integration into the side could prove to be THE masterstroke of this term.