‘Extraordinary’ Mahrez is driving force to team’s charge through knockout stages and place in final
On the day that Angel Di Maria became the most expensive player in the history of English football, Riyad Mahrez was playing in a League Cup defeat to Shrewsbury Town.
Mahrez was a £450,000 signing who had just made his first two top-flight appearances for Leicester City while Manchester United paid £59.7 million for a Champions League winner and World Cup finalist.
Fast forward seven years to the Champions League semi-final and there was a different tale of two left-footed right-wingers in Manchester City’s 2-0 win on Tuesday. Di Maria was sent-off for a swipe.
“They started kicking us and it was good,” Mahrez said. And if Fernandinho was the man Di Maria lashed out at, Mahrez represented the major source of frustration.
Paris Saint-Germain could not handle him; at times, they could not get near enough to kick him. Perhaps the standout moment of the Algerian’s night was not either of his goals, but when he ghosted away from Presnel Kimpembe with an effortless glorious piece of skill. Marquinhos executed a block to deny him a hat-trick but there was no denying Mahrez his stage in Europe.
City’s efforts to clear the hail off the pitch at half time included equipping the stadium manager with spades to shovel it off. While others had struggled with the conditions, Mahrez felt the exception, his balance enabling him to glide and change direction without warning. The conquerors of Barcelona and Bayern Munich could not cope with Mahrez.
His golden year came with Leicester, when his 17 goals and 13 assists helped render them champions. Yet this has been his greatest week; he became only the second Premier League player, after Sadio Mane, to end a Champions League semi-final with three goals.
“Riyad is extraordinary,” Pep Guardiola said. “He has huge quality. Players are judged by how they behave in the big tests. He is always ready. He enjoys it. Three goals over the tie deserves big compliments.”
City’s charge through the knockout stages has been led by Mahrez. He has either scored or assisted a goal in five consecutive games. His cutback for De Bruyne’s equaliser in the first leg against Borussia Dortmund was very important, as was the nerveless penalty in the second. Then came his free-kick in Paris and Tuesday’s double in Manchester.
If his first goal showed a predatory streak, the second felt more revealing of City’s tactics. In a system with a false nine, or even two, the wingers can be City’s most advanced players.
So they were when Phil Foden scooted clear and, bypassing the gap in the middle where a specialist striker might have been, found Mahrez to sweep in his shot.
Each has usurped Raheem Sterling for a place in the side, displacing a winger who scored 31 times last season. It is a sign of their impact. There is another prolific finisher they have rendered surplus to requirements. Guardiola showed his sentimental side by bringing on Sergio Aguero for a late cameo.
A decade ago, the Argentine started in City’s first Champions League game. Perhaps he will play his last game for them in the culmination of a long journey: the Champions League final.
Mahrez became only the second Premier League player, after Mane, to end a Champions League semi-final with three goals