Kevin Horlock was full of praise for Joao Cancelo after Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday evening, calling him “an absolute nightmare” for his opponents while suggesting he’s “almost impossible to stop”.
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The 26-year-old delivered a Man of the Match display against Gladbach and had a big hand in both goals on the night, leading to Horlock waxing lyrical about Cancelo’s creative threat. He said: “You don’t expect a full back to turn up in the centre of the pitch and get shots off from the edge of the box.
“It’s scary. I see highlights of the games and it shows where he has touches – how do you deal with it?! He creates overloads and has license to go in there and cause havoc. It must be an absolute nightmare for opponents to deal with it and stop it. He’s almost impossible to stop.”
Cancelo joined City from Juventus in 2019 and has gone on to make 63 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and supplying five assists (Transfermarkt). The Portugese international didn’t immediately hit the ground running at City and had to be patient for regular opportunities in his debut season, but he’s vindicating Pep Guardiola’s faith in him now.
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Cancelo started only 13 Premier League games from a possible 38 in 2019/20, but he’s started 19 this season. The 26-year-old is an important player for City and is flourishing operating in a similar fluid role to Philippe Lahm when Guardiola was Bayern Munich manager.
Cancelo takes up a central role and acts as another attacker when City have the ball in the opponents’ half, so he helps create an overload that allows the Sky Blues to retain possession high up the pitch. And his excellent distribution leads to goals, as shown on Wednesday, so he’s highly effective as Horlock says.