Redaction Simon Brett with Srinivas Sadhanand
Published on 2024-02-21 18:00:00
Manuel Akanji stood out with an incredible performance as Manchester City defeated Brentford 1-0 on Tuesday night. Pep Guardiola had challenged the 28-year-old to get back to form before the game, and the Swiss international responded by excelling as a makeshift left-back, dominating in every department.
Guardiola’s experiment worked wonders, allowing Nathan Ake a rare opportunity to rest during this season. Akanji’s outstanding display was exemplified by an incredible statistic revealed by Sofascore on X, stating that the City centre-back completed 63 out of 63 passes in the final third against Brentford, a feat that no other player has accomplished since the 2015/2016 season.
While statistics can sometimes be deceptive, in Akanji’s case, it illustrated just how flawless his performance was against Brentford. Considering his splendid display as a left-back, it may be wise for Manchester City to deploy him in the same manner as a right-back. Akanji was given the freedom to push forward and invert into central zones, but in an advanced position, against Brentford.
Looking ahead, utilizing Akanji in this way at right-back or tasking him to hold the width, could potentially unlock a new weapon for Manchester City until the end of the season. After all, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol are more natural fits at left-back than the DFB-Pokal winner. Deploying Akanji as a right-back could open up new possibilities for City in the coming matches.
Overall, it would be fair to claim that Akanji’s performance against Brentford was one of his finest of the season. With his tremendous display as a left-back, it has opened up new possibilities for how Pep Guardiola and Manchester City can utilize him in future games.
Read Original article on Manchester City News
