Abdukodir Khusanov was thrown in at the deep end after signing for Manchester City on January 20, making his debut against a fierce Chelsea side five days later and making a costly mistake
Nicolas Jackson showed a touch of class to Premier League newby Abdukodir Khusanov during Manchester City’s clash with Chelsea.
The 20-year-old became the first Uzbek to join a Premier League club when he signed for the Sky Blues from Lens earlier this month in a reported £33.8million deal. The centre-half had made just 31 appearances for Lens before signing on the dotted line for City, which led to some fans questioning his capabilities ahead of his debut against Chelsea, given his lack of experience.
The youngster ended up getting off to a nightmare start during the fixture, challenging Jackson in the air in a routine clearance before missing the ball completely. Facing his own goal, he then attempted to head the ball back to Ederson but made minimal contact, allowing Jackson to intercept and square it to Noni Madueke who placed it into the back of the net with just three minutes played.
Khusanov looked incredibly disheartened by the error and was visibly frustrated with his head down as Madueke wheeled off in celebration at the Etihad. Things then went from bad to worse for the debutant, as he was booked for a foul on Cole Palmer in the next minute after giving away possession.
However, Jackson showed a degree of thoughtfulness for the opposing defender, as he gave him a reassuring pat on the stomach which was picked up on by fans who applauded him for the gesture. And, despite a rough start, Khusanov improved as time went on and it ultimately ended up being City’s day on home soil as they ended the match as 3-1 victors.
Josko Gvardiol levelled the game moments before half-time when a deep ball from Ilkay Gundogan found the path of Matheus Nunes, who burst behind the back line before getting a shot off on Robert Sanchez. Gvardiol was there to pick up the scraps from save, slotting home to drag City back level.
Khusanov saw his debut come to an end just shy of ten minutes into the second half as he was replaced by John Stones. Erling Haaland then made it 2-1 to City on 68 minutes when Sanchez came off his line to provide support for Trevoh Chalobah – only to be lobbed by the Norwegian powerhouse.
Phil Foden put the game to bed with three minutes left, bursting through the centre of the pitch on the break before slotting the ball home to the left of Sanchez. Pep Guardiola will hope that Khusanov’s error will not have impacted him too much, given that he may well rely on the centre-half again for City’s clash with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday evening (January 19).
Nathan Ake is currently sidelined with a muscular injury, and with an important clash with Arsenal to come on Sunday (February 2), Guardiola will have decisions to make. Before that, City’s final league game of the Champions League with Brugge is a make or break affair.
As it stands, City will not qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament as they currently sit 25th in the league standings, two points behind 24th VfB Stuttgart. If they want to progress to the play-off round, they will need to beat Brugge, while also relying on Stuttgart, Sporting CP, PSG or Benfica to drop points.
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