Phil Foden and Rodri have been stealing all the headlines since last night’s win for Manchester City over Aston Villa – but former captain Kit Symons ensured two other players came in for praise after the game.
City beat the Villans 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium to keep pace with Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the league.
The sensational Foden scored a brilliant hat-trick, with Rodri getting the ball rolling.
After a sub-par display against Arsenal on Sunday, City needed to be much better against a solid Villa side.
And they were, with the second-half performance particularly good. Villa did have players missing, but this was a statement display from Pep Guardiola‘s side.
Foden and Rodri have come in for a lot of plaudits since the game. But former City captain Kit Symons picked out two other players deserving of praise for their contributions…
Kit Symons hails Manchester City wide players Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish for causing Aston Villa ‘problems’
Against Villa, Pep rested Kevin De Bruyne, which allowed Foden to play centrally.
Bernardo Silva was also deployed in the middle, meaning chances for Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku on the wings.
Neither player has been in particularly good form of late, so this was a good chance for them to build some momentum – and the duo were really good.
Ally McCoist acknowledged Grealish’s performance while commentating for TNT Sports, insisting it had been a ‘good evening’ for the 28-year-old.
Former City captain Symons also thinks Grealish had a good game, as he praised both him and Doku for being thorns in Villa’s sides. He said on City’s Matchday Live show: “I was desperate for Jack to score. He deserved it for his performance. Both of them right from the outset gave really disciplined performances and kept the width.
“Both got at the full-backs and caused them all sorts of problems.”
Good nights for Grealish and Doku
Grealish and Doku were both really good against Villa and their performances have gone under the radar because of Foden’s hat-trick and Rodri’s goal, assist and all-round display.
It’s not too often that both start, but they may well have given Pep something to think about moving forward.
Doku was just electric against Villa and was a real pain for Lucas Digne to deal with. On the other side, we saw the contrasting style of Grealish, who also gave his man Ezri Konsa plenty to think about.
City need everyone bang at it in the coming weeks, and it was really positive to see Grealish and Doku make the most of their opportunities.