Whilst Manchester City were left frustrated at not being able to add another Premier League or the Champions League trophy to their cabinet last season, the standout performances of a number of key City players would have been a pleasing aspect of the campaign for Pep Guardiola.
City’s best performer this year was Kevin De Bruyne who was rightly awarded the Premier League’s Player of the Year award after scoring 13 goals and registering a further 20 assists. However, another player who shone throughout the campaign was wideman Riyad Mahrez.
The Algerian’s influence at City has been gradual since his in 2018. He was regularly rotated in and out of the side across his first campaign, scoring just seven goals and registering a further four assists across 1430 minutes of league action.
Yet it was last season when we really saw the 29-year-old’s influence in the side grown. He amassed significantly more league minutes for the Blues at a combined 2112, and he also upped his overall output in the final third to 11 goals and nine assists.
That’s not to suggest his first campaign at the Etihad was poor; after all, the silky attacker even then would regularly prove to be a handful for most defences he came up again.
However, in the last campaign, there was evidence to suggest that he was able to adjust his own game to meet the requirements of what the team needed from a tactical point of view on the day.
As we know, Mahrez registered nine league assists last season, with all of them coming in the second half. He also scored 11 league goals but only three came in the second half with eight coming before the interval.
The attacker played 1006 first half minutes this season and 1106 second half minutes, so not a huge difference. Obviously, things such as the game state can play a part in on-pitch behaviours. However, as we can see, he did seem to venture closer to goal in the opening 45 minutes when compared to after half time.
Does that suggest he is asked by Guardiola to initially be the scorer rather than creator? His attacking intent across both halves would certainly suggest so. He averaged 3.58 shots per 90 in the first half last season compared to just 2.77 in the second.
What about chance creation? Well, he averaged just 1.7 shots assists per 90 in the first half, however that average notably increased to 2.44 per 90 in the second.
Based on all of the above, we can probably assume that his role for City has varied depending on the game period and state, which is an appealing facet of the attacker. Guardiola will know he can utilise him early in matches to be a driving attacking force and genuine threat on the opposition’s goal.
However, perhaps when other attacking players are introduced in the later stages, Guardiola knows Mahrez possesses the ability to adjust his game in order to turn provider for those around him.
This ability to play different roles within the side may explain why he was given more minutes on the pitch last season and why he is most likely set for another big role in the City side in this coming season.
