Riyad Mahrez's underrated brilliance needs to be exploited by Pep Guardiola next season

This year's almost concluded edition of the Africa Cup of Nations has had bouts of scintillating gameplay and dazzling individual performances. We watched Madagascar's shock progress up till the quarter-finals and the winning streaks of the North African countries in the group games. However, the one player whose brilliance has captivated audiences around the world is Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez.

Mahrez, for the Desert Foxes of Algeria, has been a leader and a star player. The 28-year-old captain was a consistent part of an Algerian squad that didn't concede a single goal, flawlessly winning all their group games.

However, entering the knockout stages, Mahrez became a critical player for the squad as he contributed immensely to Algeria's attacking endeavors.

His first goal in the knockout stages - against Guinea - was a classic. While Algeria was searching for a way through the final third on the left-wing, the brilliant attacker snuck into open space on the right-wing. He called for the ball, received it, and dribbled past a defender en-route to his goal. Twisting his body to the right - and sending the keeper diving to the right - he placed the ball cooly at the left bottom corner of the goal.

While that goal was beautiful, it doesn't compare to the masterpiece freekick he scored against Nigeria in the dying embers of the game. It was six minutes into injury time, and the freekick was the last kick before the referee blew both teams to extra time. Mahrez showcased a cool-headed focus that he channeled into curling a powerful freekick that thrust Algeria into the finals and sunk Nigeria.

Mahrez, with the Cityzens at the Etihad Stadium, is an entirely different case. He has had barely enough game-time for a footballer of his talent or status. He has started only ten games as a right-wing forward in City's natural 4-3-3 formation, clocking three goals and three assists from those starting appearances.

In the Premier League, he started only 14 games, while being used as a substitute 13 times. While he scored seven Premier League goals and clocked three assists, one can only wonder how many more times he would have been on the scoresheet if he started many more games.

The question is: why doesn't Pep Guardiola take advantage of Mahrez's obvious brilliance on the field? The Algerian has shown how integral he is to the Algerian team, made up of lesser talented players than the world-class Manchester City squad. Yet, he has, in the dying minute, pushed them into the finals for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Taking a look at his competition for the wing-forward positions in City's natural 4-3-3 formation, Mahrez is only third best in terms of goal contributions. The Algerian has contributed to 6 goals in 10 starts.

Bernardo Silva has contributed to four goals in his twelve starts as a wing-forward (3.3 goal contributions in 10 starts). Raheem Sterling, in wing-forward positions, has contributed to 24 goals in 29 starts (8 contributions in 10 starts). Leroy Sane has started as a wing-forward on the left 21 times and has contributed to 19 goals (9 contributions in 10 starts).

Yet, consequentially, Mahrez has not had enough playing time to prove himself to Guardiola. His Premier League tally of seven goals and four assists came from just over 1,300 minutes played. Sterling has had more than twice the minutes Mahrez got on the field, which is twice the time to learn and use the manager's tactics, and twice the time to understand the playing styles of his teammates.

It is almost shocking that such little playing time has been given to a player like Mahrez who City shelled out all of £60 million to bring to the Etihad. Guardiola himself has noted that Mahrez has not done anything to deserve the poor playing time. Discussing the issue in a press conference, Guardiola pointed out that not playing Mahrez was because of the top form of players like Sterling:

“We have incredible players, like for example Bernardo and Raz in top, top form and that is the only reason why.

“There’s no particular reason, like being upset or something like that.

“He is a guy we are happy with, but unfortunately I am not kind with him, in fact I cannot give him the minutes he deserves, so I’m sorry, that’s all I can say.”

Guardiola did, however, say that Mahrez's time is coming:

“I don’t have any doubts about his quality, just to keep going, not complain too much, move forward and fight more and more and more, his time is coming.

“It’s coming and I’m pretty sure he is going to play good.”

Mahrez's influence hasn't been exploited by Guardiola, and while the Manchester City trophy cabinet vindicates his decisions, it does not bode well for a player of Mahrez's skill.

With Leroy Sane looking likely to leave, Pep needs to use Riyad Mahrez's brilliance much more in the coming season. His captaincy of the Algerian side into the finals of a continental competition - alongside Sadio Mane and Senegal - proves that Mahrez is world-class and deserves more playing time at Manchester City.

Dear Guardiola, Mahrez's time has come.

The Algerian has no real weaknesses when played in his prime position. He is a good passer of the ball, has a vision for key passes and long through balls, is a threat from 25 yards out in open play, and excels at gracious and accurate set-pieces.

Could he get more starts? Certainly. Manchester City has four competitions they aim to win this coming season. Last season, Mahrez only played 10 cup games and did not feature once in the Champions League. That can change this season as Mahrez has shown an ability to keep his head on his shoulders and push his team forward when it matters the most.

If Pep Guardiola saw the same AFCON games we saw, there is no doubt that he'd seeMahrez has done well to cement more consistent game time in the coming season. Guardiola can exploit Mahrez's brilliance on the field to ensure that the Cityzens have another successful season. However, only time will tell what the manager's decision will be.