Alan Shearer says one Manchester City player made a big impact in the recent FA Cup final against Manchester United.
After winning their fourth Premier League title in a row last weekend, the Blues were denied a consecutive domestic double this afternoon after they lost 2-1 to the Red Devils at Wembley Stadium.
Alejandro Garnacho put United 1-0 up by capitalising on a mistake between Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega.
Later in the first half, Kobbie Mainoo doubled the lead, which ended up being the winning goal of the game, with City only getting one consolation goal in the second half.
Despite the defeat, one pundit highlighted one specific City player and praised his efforts in the game.
Shearer says Jeremy Doku was City’s shining light in FA Cup final defeat
Speaking on the BBC’s commentary of the game (via BBC Sport), Shearer had this to say about what he saw from Jeremy Doku in the second half of the final.
He said: “Jeremy Doku has certainly made a difference with the way he has stretched Manchester United and made the pitch bigger.
“It’s been a really good battle between Doku and [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka in the second half.”
Having completed the full 90 minutes in last weekend’s title-winning game against West Ham United, the winger found himself benched for today’s final.
However, after a disappointing first half from his side, Pep Guardiola decided to put Doku on for the second period.
Doku was a bright spark for City
In his 45 minutes of action, the Belgian scored a goal with a shot that crept past Andre Onana in the 87th minute.
As well as that, the 21-year-old made two key passes, drew three fouls, had three shots blocked and successfully completed three of the five duels he was involved in.
This performance ultimately earned the attacker an overall match rating of 7.9/10 from SofaScore, making him the highest-rated City player on what turned out to be a disheartening final day of the season.
With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why Shearer’s attention was caught by what he saw from Doku as the winger tried to turn the tide for his team.