Riyad Mahrez was struggling for consistency earlier in the season, failing to score or make an assist in his first seven Premier League appearances which eventually cost him a starting place under Pep Guardiola.
The 31-year-old was coming off the back of 24 goals with nine assists from 47 games last season, but he only had four goals and one assist from 17 games before the World Cup.
Mahrez has since turned things around with four goals and an assist from five games, but Guardiola recently revealed that the Algerian international wasn’t happy at losing his starting place before.
He told reporters: “When they play in this way, and maybe complain (about not playing every game) I say ‘yes, you’re right’. Before, he cannot complain because he wasn’t playing at the level he is now.
“It’s not just about quality, it’s more in football, you have to do more. Since we came back (from the) World Cup, he is playing really, really well.”
Vital Man City said Mahrez was one player who needed to work hard in training to hit the ground running when the tournament ended. Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were preferred on the flanks before the World Cup, but Mahrez is back to being a regular in the starting eleven.
City lock horns with Southampton in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and Mahrez might be rested, but he’s one of the first names on the teamsheet in the Premier League.
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