A frustrating week for Manchester City came to an end on Sunday as they were beaten 2-0 by Premier League leaders Liverpool at The Etihad.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai secured all three points for Arne Slot’s men, who are now 11 points clear at the top of the division.
This came off the back of a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League, resulting in their exit from the competition, on Wednesday night, thanks to a stunning hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe.
There were some positives for Pep Guardiola and his team to take from the defeat to the Reds, though, and one was the performance of Abdukodir Khusanov at the heart of the defence.
Abdukodir Khusanov’s performance against Liverpool
The January signing from Ligue 1 side Rennes was selected alongside Nathan Ake at centre-back, with Ruben Dias left on the bench, and stepped up with an excellent showing for the Cityzens.
Khusanov had a nightmare debut against Chelsea, making an error for Noni Madueke’s goal after just three minutes, but the 20-year-old titan appears to have settled into Premier League life now.
The talented youngster made a terrific last-man challenge on Szoboszlai towards the end of the game and halted Salah, when the score was 0-0, in the first half when the forward appeared set to test Ederson unchallenged.
In total, he made six clearances, one block, one tackle, and one interception, whilst the centre-back also won two of his three duels and completed 99% (87/88) of his attempted passes.
Khusanov made some vital defensive interventions and produced some excellent moments to keep Liverpool at bay, whilst Ake struggled in the left-sided centre-back role.
Why Nathan Ake should be dropped
Guardiola must instantly drop the Netherlands international from the starting line-up for the next game against Tottenham Hotspur after he put in a dismal display against Liverpool.
As you can see in the clip above, Salah’s goal to open the scoring at The Etihad came via a deflection off Ake, as the left-footed flop dangled a leg out and deflected the effort past Ederson.
The former Chelsea and Bournemouth star offered very little from a defensive perspective, as Salah also burst past him with ease in the left channel and Khusanov had to sweep up and win possession back before the forward could get a shot away in the first half.
|
Vs Liverpool |
Nathan Ake |
|---|---|
|
Clearances |
2 |
|
Blocks |
0 |
|
Tackles |
0 |
|
Interceptions |
0 |
|
Duels won |
0/1 |
|
Touches |
77 |
|
Accurate passes |
70/73 (96%) |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
As you can see in the table above, Ake lost 100% of his duels in the match and did not make a single tackle, interception, or block to help his side out.
Whereas, Khusanov, as aforementioned won two of his three ground duels and made six clearances, tackles, blocks, and interceptions combined, which means that he showed up the Dutch dud – who is ten years his senior – on Sunday.
Guardiola must, now, instantly drop Ake from the XI and bring Dias, who has won 54% of his duels in the Premier League this season, back into the side to provide a dominant presence alongside Khusanov against Spurs.
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It will then be down to the Dutchman to show, in training or off the bench, that he can bounce back with an improved display when he next gets an opportunity to start.