Anfield horror is now forgotten as Mah is spot on!
IN reality, the ball flew beyond the crossbar and into the Anfield Road End. In the mind’s eye of the City fans gathered behind the goal, Riyad Mahrez’s penalty ended up somewhere between the Albert Dock and the Moon.
At that point, it is safe to say no City supporter wanted to see the Algerian standing over the ball from 12 yards ever again.
Fast forward three years and Mahrez is now Pep Guardiola’s Mr Reliable from the spot.
He is so sure of himself on penalty duties nowadays that he seemed to bounce up from Stanley N’Soki’s clumsy challenge and collect the ball in one fluid movement against Club Brugge on Tuesday.
No one was getting it out of his hands and he steered his kick unerringly into the bottom left corner. It wouldn’t have mattered if keeper Simon Mignolet had guessed which way to go.
A cool late finish to complete an authoritative 5-1 rout took Mahrez to six goal for the season - his status as City’s top scorer all the more impressive when you consider he has only featured fleetingly in the Premier League.
The second of his haul came against RB Leipzig, also from the spot and all the more impressive because of the different technique he employed to the one used against Brugge. On that occasion, Mahrez clattered into the top right corner, beyond Peter Gulasci.
Are group games not high stakes enough for you? Well, he thumped one past Marwin Hitz as last season’s Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund hung in the balance.
This might be tempting fate and committing sacrilege all at once, but maybe City have finally found their latest sure thing from 12 yards. A man to follow in the footsteps of Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure, from the days in the middle of the previous decade when ‘penalty’ meant ‘goal’.
Mahrez might never inspire quite that level of confidence, his Anfield escapades alone account for that, but the improvement really is staggering.
Others who need to add things to their game here and there can look to Mahrez and his journey from penalty pariah to 12-yard titan and know all things are possible.