Manuel has a winning formula off the bench!

MATHS whizz Manuel Akanji has already performed his party piece as the human calculator for some of Manchester City’s players and the physio department. His ability to perform difficult multiplications instantly in his head has left new colleagues openmouthed in amazement.

Yet if the Switzerland international has them gobsmacked off the pitch, his formula for success on the pitch is having a similar the ground running just didn’t add up, describing his adaptation as “absolutely unreal”.

He said: “He came in, didn’t train much and played absolutely great. It feels like he’s been playing with us for a while.”

Akanji modestly credits his swift assimilation into the ranks to the qualities of his new teammates both on and off the pitch.

“I feel so comfortable in this team because they made it so easy for me to settle in,” he said.

“The guys are very relaxed off the pitch and on the pitch they help me a lot.

“But I feel good, my body feels good and I hope I can keep going like this.”

Stages

With John Stones, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and Ake all having been out at various stages this season, City’s late dash for Akanji made sense.

But even City’s management team have been pleasantly surprised they have acquired a player who has strengthened options at the back to this degree.

Akanji (27) played the last four fixtures for City culminating in his best game against United, for all that he was frustrated by the concession of two late goals in the 6-3 demolition.

“We can’t concede three goals in games like this where we controlled the game over 90 minutes,” he said. “We have to do better. In the end the three points are what matters but hopefully in the next game we can keep the clean sheet.”

The maths on the pitch is simple enough.

ALL THE ANGLES: Akanji with Marcus Rashford