Manchester City were dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, but there were three players whose performances would have made Pep Guardiola proud on the night.
Real Madrid walked away from the Etihad Stadium as 5-1 winners in their last 16 tie, but some would argue this was not a fair reflection of Manchester City’s display.
In truth, Real Madrid should have scored more, but City had some promising moments of their own, which particularly came from three players.
Pep Guardiola has been given plenty to think about regarding his future lineups, so let’s take a look at these players and why they were so good.
Abdukodir Khasanov was immense for Manchester City
It was a big call for Guardiola to drop Marc Guehi in favour of keeping Adukodir Khasanov and that decision certainly paid off.
The Uzbek defender looked far more comfortable as a centre-back than when he played on the right flank last week and this completely changed the level of his game.
Khasnov used his pace to make vital interventions, including one very important last man tackle which essentially prevented Real Madrid from scoring.
All night long, the 22-year-old was active in defence and he gave his absolute all, even when the tie looked dead and buried. If Khusanov does not start in the Carabao Cup final, it would be hard to see why.
Jeremy Doku was Man City’s standout attacker
Most of the chances created by Manchester City had something to do with Jeremy Doku. The winger was superb all night on the left wing, as he dribbled past defenders and repeatedly found ways to get balls into the box.
Erling Haaland may have scored Man City’s only goal of the game, but this was all about the work Doku did in order to play his grounded cross to the striker.
Doku looked like he might have had a goal of his own later in the game, but unfortunately he stood in an offside position before receiving the ball.
Some might not have expected Doku to be starting against Real Madrid, but they will be delighted that he did.
Rayan Cherki showed promise on the right wing
Of the three players, Rayan Cherki was definitely the least impressive, but he still had moments which had fans asking why he is so rarely in the starting lineup.
Cherki was really good with the ball at his feet and he will claim he did enough to win a penalty during the first half, for a supposed foul which was not given.
The 22-year-old showcased his vision with a cross in the second half which led to a Rayan Ait-Nouri goal which was once again ruled out due to an offside infringement.
Cherki’s performance was not perfect, but he showed glimpses of why he deserves to be in the team. Will Pep Guardiola start him at the weekend? Probably not, but keeping him in is not out of the question yet.
