Aleks proves his worth yet again
ALEKS Zinchenko is used to being underestimated.
The City utility player has made important contributions to the clutch of trophies acquired under Pep Guardiola, yet the club have been willing to let him leave in three of the five summers he has spent in Manchester since his 2016 arrival.
However far it got - and on at least one occasion there was a club willing to pay significant money - the player always politely refused to go, insisting he could force his way into first-team contention again.
Without fail, Zinchenko has been as good as his word.
He has mostly impressed as a leftback but it is a sign of his ability that he has been able to shine for his national team in a midfield role.
So while his selection against PSG - only his third start of the season after RB Leipzig in September and West Ham in the Carabao Cup - and his position - a No.8 role that he has never started a game in before for the Blues - had people talking of another wild Champions League call from Guardiola, the Ukranian quickly demonstrated that there had been no reason to panic.
As a midfielder, he was calm and composed as he mirrored Ilkay Gundogan in expertly distributing the ball up the pitch. He was involved in the rotating forward line, pushing high up the pitch either alongside Bernardo Silva or as the furthest player up the pitch harassing PSG in possession.
There was also the occasional moment to drop in behind Joao Cancelo as the left-back for the evening drove forward into space.
Zinchenko may only have been playing because of injuries to not just one first-team regular but several: Phil Foden has joined Jack Grealish, Ferran Torres and Kevin De Bruyne on the treatment table after feeling the after-effects of a heavy challenge against Everton.
Just one of those represents fearsome competition for Zinchenko, never mind all four of them. Yet the 24-year-old has shown yet again he can be an effective member of a world-class team, holding his own against the very best players in the world.
If the last five years have taught us Zinchenko can never get too comfortable with his place in the team, it has also been seen time after time he is more than capable of seizing any chance given. In one of the most high-profile games of the season any job Zinchenko was asked to do he not only did, but overdelivered on.