Riyad Mahrez has been in and out of the Manchester City side in recent months but another goal at the weekend, this time against his former club Leicester City, has done little to convince these supporters he should be starting on the right-wing week in, week out.
Many of them took to Twitter to express their thoughts on the £54m-rated winger (as per TransferMarkt), with a vast majority of them believing that he is ‘overhyped’ and would prefer to see the likes of Leroy Sane in front of him in the team.
Did Mahrez do enough versus Leicester to start at Wolves?
Yes
No
I’d much rather have a fully fit Sané over Mahrez, who is overhyped after one good game.
— ???? (@egaffiney) December 22, 2019
I prefer Sane in left and Sterling in right like season 17/18
— Ezio Auditore (@ezio_dffi) December 22, 2019
He struggles against teams who sit deep
— KXNG Kombian (@FinallyGidkom) December 22, 2019
He’s not a team player and still does not work hard enough.
— Andy Johnson (@andyjoh83577291) December 22, 2019
Personally rather see him as a 10 not on the wing!
— mike cooke (@mikecooke321) December 22, 2019
Against the good teams, yes. He’s awful against the teams that park the bus.
— MCFCAsp-Aronic Acid (@Lucioronio) December 22, 2019
What do we think?
Riyad Mahrez is an incredibly talented player but is he more talented than Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane? That is what these supporters appear to be struggling with. There is an argument that the Algerian’s opportunities could be even fewer and far between when the German returns to full-fitness, which perhaps happened at the beginning of his Etihad days.
The 28-year-old has scored five goals in his 14 Premier League appearances so far but the fans are adamant he is only suited to certain types of fixtures and doesn’t necessarily have the craft to unlock deeper lying defences.
The beauty of this Manchester City squad is that Guardiola has options when it comes to selecting his attack and that allows him to vary his approach slightly in certain fixtures. Mahrez may not be the first name on the team-sheet but he certainly has a key part to play in the remainder of the season.