Jermaine Jenas has hailed Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez for his impact in the 3-1 win over Everton on Saturday evening.
The Algerian scored a wonderful free kick to reestablish City’s lead in that match. and Jenas was eager to sing his praises for his all-round contribution.
Speaking on Match of the Day (BBC One, Saturday September 28th, 10.30pm), he said: “The standout performer for me, on the day, was Riyad Mahrez.
“Some of the things he was doing, he was just a different class, a different level.
“The energy that he started the game with, he had real intent.”
Does Mahrez deserve to start every game for Man City?
Given the embarrassment of riches that Pep Guardiola has at his disposal, it is perhaps understandable that he likes to chop and change his starting XI quite freely, especially in attacking positions.
At the moment, with Leroy Sane sidelined, Mahrez’s only real rivals for a starting berth on the flank are Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva.
With the exception of last week’s 8-0 demolition of Watford, Sterling seems like a nailed on starter for the Spaniard, having started every other Premier League game this season, and as such, at this present moment in time, Mahrez is locked in a direct shootout with Silva for a regular role.
On paper, the stats are fairly close, but Mahrez edges things.
Prior to Saturday’s win over the Toffees, the 28-year-old had registered more successful dribbles per game than Silva this season, with 5.55 [Wyscout], to the Portuguese’s 5.41 [Wyscout].
Similarly, he won more offensive duels per match, with a total of 9.74 to Silva’s 9.25.
Moreover, Silva is a less efficient worker than Mahrez.
In both of those categories, the 25-year-old had lower average percentages than Mahrez, with 37.4% successful dribbles to 49.1%, as well as 41.5% offensive duels won to 46%.
Throw in Mahrez’s superlative performance yesterday, described by Independent journalist Mark Critchley as “excellent”, and it is fairly evident that he deserves to keep his place in the starting XI.