City’s Renaissance man Mahrez has moved from the periphery to centre stage
It will not count as one of his assists, but Kevin De Bruyne set up Manchester City’s second goal at the Parc des Princes. He was standing over a free-kick, assessing the angle to get the ball over the wall and into the top corner, when the voice of Riyad Mahrez interrupted.
“I said if you believe in yourself take it,” said De Bruyne, who has admitted he enjoys teeing up his team-mates as much as scoring. In this case, he was able to assist without touching the ball.
Not many others would step aside in the circumstances. It is unlikely that Cristiano Ronaldo would pass up a similar opportunity with a Champions League semi-final in the balance. Yet Pep Guardiola’s team have shown themselves to be the most selfless of super-teams: the fact that five players have scored double-figures this season points to a truly collective effort.
De Bruyne is their talisman but is happy out of the limelight and, sure enough, their “stars” this season have come from the ranks of those who were once on the periphery, with Mahrez chief among them.
Perhaps there was something about returning to Paris that made him want that free-kick. Mahrez grew up 15 miles from the Parc des Princes and honed his dribbling skills in the concrete cages of Sarcelles, a northern suburb, yet it was not simply sentiment that made him the right option for that moment.
The Algeria international is, after all, in fine form: he has already matched his goals tally of 12 from last season, having played six fewer games, and has made as many Premier League starts this season (21) as in the whole of last term.
Having recently been deemed a player who could be at risk of being jettisoned, Mahrez, who has two years left on his deal, is making a compelling case for being offered a new one.
“I love everything about the club, the city, I am just concentrating on the team and to try and win things,” he said. “I don’t know if it is the best since I have been here but I feel very good in the most important moment of the season.” Of his goal against Paris St-Germain, he said: “I wanted to go around the wall but I missed it. It went between the two players and fortunately it was in.”
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Mahrez is not alone in being a Renaissance man as City close on another league title - they can win it if they beat Crystal Palace tomorrow and Manchester United lose to Liverpool on Sunday - and eye an unprecedented success in Europe.
From the team who started the season, there was little indication that Mahrez and John Stones would be resurrected, that Joao Cancelo could be transformed into the next Philipp Lahm, or that Ilkay Gundogan would have such influence.
City’s technical team saw the potential for Phil Foden to make a push for the European Championship, but it still required the young forward to deliver. Sources close to City’s dressing room say the rise of these players have been the reason why they have surged past Liverpool and also held off United.
Stones’s return to form has been the most dramatic. His future was uncertain last summer when Guardiola preferred to play Eric Garcia, 19 at the time, ahead of him for City’s biggest match of the season in the Champions League. Arsenal looked a good fit, with Mikel Arteta knowing him well, but he decided to stay and fight for his place.
With help from a sports psychologist his belief and form returned. Gareth Southgate took note and Stones will be heading to the Euros this summer.
Cancelo, who was seen as a possible makeweight in swap deals over the summer, has also been transformed.
The Portugal full-back had struggled with the intensity of training in his first season but is now the finest “inverted full-back” in Europe, moving inside to central midfield and impacting games.
Gundogan has been extraordinary, with 16 goals from midfield making him the top scorer and a contender for player of the year. He has two years left on his deal but an extension looks an easy decision, even if he turns 31 next season.
It all points to a squad with options in every position and with the promise of more to come if Guardiola is, as expected, allowed to spend this summer.
No wonder their rivals are anxious.
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
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