1 hour ago
2
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about an improvement Jeremy Doku has made to his game
Pep Guardiola believes Jeremy Doku has learned how to punish teams when they try to mark him out of the game. The Manchester City star continued his fine form with an assist in the 5-1 win over Burnley.
It was a deserved reward after he gave Kyle Walker a difficult afternoon on his return to the Etihad. A jinking run into the box created the first goal when his shot was only part-saved and turned back into the net by Maxime Esteve.
The assist was significant as well - the Belgian now has more assists for Haaland than he managed in his first two seasons at the Etihad. When Haaland scores goals, City generally win games.
Guardiola has been pleased with the way Doku runs at defenders, but even more happy with the way he appears to have discovered more what to do when opponents double or triple up on him. The winger's final ball has been a concern since he was signed in 2023, but there seems to have been clear improvement from a player who at the age of 23 still has lots of time to get better and better.
"I ask the wingers in the final third to go 1vs 1 or 1vs2 and I have the feeling that Jeremy's decision making in the final third improved like wow. Comparing to the past, he made an assist to Erling and sees the channels," said Guardiola.
"He's an incredible threat against teams that are a low block and deep. Jeremy is really important and when the team is transitional maybe he can struggle a bit but he had the ball and brought the opponent to the box.
"Now he is reading good. When Jeremy goes there for the second goal, two or three opponents go there.
"They don't allow him to go 1vs1 because he's unstoppable. There is no winger over 5-10 metres stronger than Jeremy - he can go left or right.
"Now he is reading when the opponents go two or three who the other man is to be free to create a cross or an extra pass. He improved a lot and the second goal is an example of that. Josko made a good cross and we are lucky that immediately Matheus made a good cross and we got the third."
Doku now has three assists in his last three league games and has made a strong claim to keep his place in the team. He will face more competition after the international break, with Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki expected to be fit when the players return later in October.
---
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
English (US) ·