A Manchester City winger showed signs of maturity against Wolves
Manchester City picked up a crucial 1-nil win over Wolves at the Etihad Stadium last night. The win sees Pep Guardiola's side edge ever closer to their goal of securing Champions League football for next season. The game wasn't a spectacular affair, but there were key players in City's win. One of those was Jeremy Doku. The dynamic winger played with maturity last night as he helped his team claim a priceless victory.
Jeremy Doku played with poise and composure last night.
Doku picked his moments well on the left wing last night. He chose when to beat his man and when to slow down and help his team control the game. That composure is an ingredient that does appear to be lacking from Doku's game at times. But it does seem that he is adding that component to his play. It was evident last night and he did provide the games deciding moment for Kevin De Bruyne in the first half of last night's match.
Advertisement
Jeremy Doku set up Kevin De Bruyne's goal in the 35th minute last night. The goal came after Bernardo Silva had dispossessed Wolves midfielder André in midfield. Doku was found by Ilkay Gundogan in acres of space on the left wing, and he picked out De Bruyne with a nice pullback, who gave Manchester City the lead. It was the right moment for Doku to go and he also had the end product to match. In a game that lacked defining moments, Doku and De Bruyne combined to create the most defining moment of the match.
Jeremy Doku wants to add more goal contributions to his game and the way he played last night will help him do that.
Speaking with mancity.com after his team's win, Jeremy Doku explained that he is working on his quality and composure in the final third. He said post-game: 'I saw him [De Bruyne]; he did well because the defenders were closing the front post for [Ilkay] Gundogan. I saw him there. That's something that I've worked on. I'm in those positions a lot. I'm critical of myself and I have to do more in those situations. I know today I got an assist, but I think I can do even more. But I'm happy today for the assist.'
If Jeremy Doku plays with the maturity and composure he displayed last night the goals and assists will come. Doku played a crucial role in a critical win for Manchester City last night. Once Doku plays with that composure and maturity consistently, he will become a more well-rounded player. Last night's performance was a glimpse of what Doku can do with those elements added to his game. The hope is that it's a sign of him maturing as a player.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
38 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
A reality check for the USMNT: Why Poch's plan backfired in an ugly loss
If Mauricio Pochettino wanted to learn more about the depth of the U.S. men's national team player pool, he sure got a lesson on Tuesday night. The Argentine coach's young and experimental USMNT lineup was roundly embarrassed 4-0 by Switzerland in a friendly match in Nashville, in a game that served as the Americans' final dress rehearsal for the Concacaf Gold Cup, which Pochettino's squad opens on Sunday against Trinidad and Tobago (kickoff at 6 p.m. ET on FOX). The big takeaway? If this team is going to make any noise at all at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil a year from now, the USMNT regulars can't get back soon enough. For reasons too various to fully recap here, Pochettino is without most of what most would consider his strongest possible lineup this summer. Christian Pulisic isn't there. Neither are Folarin Balogun, Sergino Dest, Weston, McKennie, Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, Tanner Tessmann or Tim Weah. Heart and soul midfielder Tyler Adams, the USMNT's captain at the 2022 World Cup, sat out Tuesday's debacle because of a foot injury that may yet rule him out of the Gold Cup. Take a dozen of the most seasoned players out of any national team, and the results might not be pretty. Then there's the fact that Pochettino came into this two-exhibition set — the U.S. lost 2-1 to Türkiye in Connecticut last Saturday — planning to use almost all the 26 players on his roster. The plan backfired, with the U.S. conceding all four goals during a 23-minute span midway through the first half. "It's my responsibility, the decision of the choice of the starting 11," Pochettino said afterward. "It went in the wrong direction from the beginning. We were never again in the game against a very good team like Switzerland, with experienced players, a team that is playing really well. [So] my first thought is not to blame the players, it's to blame ourselves. "That was my decision and that decision didn't work." Pochettino started 20 different players over the two contests, and he has now fielded 65 players in all since replacing Gregg Berhalter at the U.S. helm last September. "With more than 60 players, it's difficult to have the continuity or balance," Pochettino said. "We changed a lot, [both] the starting 11 and the roster." Just two players started both games, and Pochettino left the experienced likes of Chris Richards and Tim Ream on the bench in Music City, though Ream was among a number of subs who came on in the second half and helped shut down the Swiss over the final 45 minutes. But the young starters were thoroughly outclassed by a Swiss XI that included European standouts like Manchester City center back Manuel Akanji, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka and Borussia Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel. Fullbacks Max Arfsten and Nathan Harriel were badly exposed defensively. It was the fourth consecutive loss for Pochettino's team, all of them at home. Coming on the heels of the regulars' last-place finish at March's Concacaf Nations League finals, the hope was that a few of the understudies would run with the rare opportunity to log big minutes in a tournament setting. Some have: Diego Luna continues to impress. Johnny Cardoso and Malik Tillman could still have a big Gold Cup. So too could the U.S. It just doesn't seem likely. Last year's 5-1 drubbing by Colombia foreshadowed a historic Copa América failure, as the Americans became the first host nation not to advance from group play in the 108-year history of that competition. Pochettino will no doubt field his strongest possible lineup in the Gold Cup. The U.S. will still be severely shorthanded. That doesn't bode well for their chances against competitive foes who'll be mostly intact. Two years ago, Panama eliminated a third-string USMNT in the Gold Cup semis. Three of those games were in the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela, where the Americans sent a "C" squad and paid a steep price, finishing last in their group with a negative-6 goal differential. Sure, a team of U.S. reserves famously shocked Mexico's regulars in the 2021 Gold Cup final. But that hasn't been the norm historically. It isn't even the ultimate goal. "After working one month together, some players that maybe you don't think have the possibility to be on the roster at the World Cup, could be," Pochettino said. "Maybe someone can surprise us. It's about opportunity. But you take a risk when you compete with this level of opponent." This roster is still capable of showing well at the Gold Cup, though. If they can come together as a team, find a lineup that clicks and catch lightning in a bottle, they remain capable of making a deep run. However the results go the rest of this summer, it's clear that Pochettino will need every possible weapon at his disposal a year from now to make the World Cup campaign a success. "The boys are so motivated to play in the Gold Cup," Pochettino said. "The feeling after Türkiye was good. We made nine changes and the combinations didn't work. That's it. "We can lose [this game], but we can win the Gold Cup and arrive at the World Cup and do well." We'll see. Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ ByDougMcIntyre . recommended Get more from Gold Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Club World Cup: Jack Grealish left out of Man City squad
MIAMI (AP) — Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City's squad for the Club World Cup. City manager Pep Guardiola named a 27-man squad for the tournament, which kicks off in Miami on Saturday, with Grealish a notable omission. Advertisement The England forward was a British record signing when he moved to City from Aston Villa for 100 million pounds ($139 million then) in 2021 and went on to help the club win three Premier League titles, the Champions League and a host of other trophies. But he has become an increasingly peripheral figure and made only seven league starts last season. The 29-year-old Grealish's absence from the Club World Cup will add to the growing expectation that he will leave during the offseason, with Guardiola embarking on a squad rebuild following the team's first trophyless season in eight years. City's squad includes four new players signed in time to take part in the month-long tournament in the United States: Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli. Advertisement In January, City also spent big to sign Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis as Guardiola began his overhaul of a squad that saw its dominance of English soccer broken by Liverpool last season. If Grealish goes, he is likely to be one of a number of players to move on. Kevin De Bruyne is leaving at the end of his contract this month and Kyle Walker is also likely to go after a loan move to AC Milan in January; as expected, neither player was in the squad. City's first match at the 32-team tournament is against Wydad Casablanca next Wednesday in Philadelphia. The other teams in the group are Juventus and Abu Dhabi's Al Ain. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer: James Robson, The Associated Press
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chelsea player ratings as Palmer and Sancho star in Conference League final triumph over Real Betis
Chelsea completed an impressive 4-1 victory over Real Betis in the Conference League final to claim a first trophy of the Enzo Maresca era. The Blues were pretty dismal in the first half in Wroclaw and deservedly trailed 1-0 but were a side transformed after the break. Cole Palmer's creativity created goals for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson before the impressive Jadon Sancho came off the bench to add a third and Moises Caicedo completed the victory with a fourth in injury time. Advertisement It means the Blues become the first team in history to have won every single major European trophy, as the Conference League crown was added to previous successes in the Champions League, Europa League and European Cup Winners' Cup. Having already secured Champions League qualification for next season by coming fourth in the Premier League, this win completes a pretty impressive first campaign for Maresca and a young squad may well be able to use this as a springboard moving forward. Here's how the Chelsea players rated as they completed the European trophy set with Conference League victory over Betis: Filip Jorgensen – 6 Couldn't do anything about Betis's goal and then made a good save during the Spanish side's dominant start to the match. Looked comfortable enough on the ball and wasn't hugely tested beyond those early moments. Advertisement Malo Gusto – 3 Constantly inverted into central midfield alongside Caicedo and Enzo, leaving Chelsea exposed with a three at the back, and the impressive Ezzalzouli subsequently made hay down Chelsea's right early on. That included scoring the opening after Gusto gave the ball away and he was subbed off at half-time for Reece James. A largely dismal day. Malo Gusto struggled in Wroclaw (AP) Trevoh Chalobah – 6 Part of the defence run ragged in the first half and caught out by Betis's lively forwards on a couple of occasions. Was tested less in the second half as Chelsea were largely on top and that was probably a good thing. Looked decent enough on the ball. Advertisement Benoit Badiashile – 4 Like Chalobah, gets pinged for being part of the defence that were given the runaround early on and then got himself booked on 55 minutes before being subbed off on the hour mark. Marc Cucurella – 7 On the left side of the three created by Gusto inverting into the midfield, he looked as uncomfortable as his defensive partners when Ezzalzouli, Isco and Antony were causing havoc. Showed ambition when playing the ball forward though, especially in the second half, and helped keep Antony quiet after the early issues. Enzo Fernandez –8 Wanted to drive Chelsea forward from a central role and although he was quiet in the first half, popped up with the vital equaliser as he drifted between two defenders and headed home Palmer's sumptuous cross. Finals are about moments and he produced a key one. Enzo Fernandez scored the vital equaliser for Chelsea (Getty) Moises Caicedo – 8 The be-masked midfielder has quietly had a good season for Chelsea and performed his traditional role of tidying up/doing the dirty work here. Gave away free-kicks in key positions on a couple of occasions in the first half but helped steady the ship after the break as the Blues began to thrive. Got himself on the scoresheet with a superb injury-time strike, starting the move, continuing his run forward and thumping home. Advertisement Pedro Neto – 4 Largely quiet although did fire a 35th-minute shot well over the bar. Showed flickers of life early in the second half but subbed off on 60 minutes with Jadon Sancho coming on as Maresca sought a spark and the Man United loanee completely outshone him. Needs more end product next season. Cole Palmer – 9 Easily the man of the match. More capable of a defining moment of quality than anyone else in the squad and produced it for the equaliser as he floated a stunning cross on to Enzo's head. Looked dangerous every time he touched the ball in the second half and brilliantly created the second goal as well, turning his man inside out before dinking another glorious cross for Jackson to force home. The creative heart who won the Blues this final before receiving a standing ovation when subbed off with a couple of minutes remaining. Cole Palmer inspired Chelsea's comeback (AP) Noni Madueke – 7 Keen to run at opposite number Sabaly whenever he got on the ball and won a couple of corners in the first half before showing more verve and spark after the break. The goals came from Palmer's creativity and Sancho's quality finish but Madueke also looked threatening. Advertisement Nicolas Jackson – 7 Led the press effectively enough early on but was starved of service in the first half and did little with what he did get. Livelier after the break as Chelsea improved and was in the right place at the right time to score the goal that put them 2-1 up, using his shoulder/chest to force Palmer's pinpoint cross home. Not pretty but he'd made the perfect run to be there. Then made a complete hash of a one on one, with the heaviest touch you will ever see to highlight the frustration Chelsea fans have with him. Hobbled off with 10 minutes left Substitutes Reece James for Gusto, 45 – 8 Answered the half-time SOS to replace the struggling Gusto and Chelsea immediately looked more fluent. He put a good cross into the box straight away, saw a shot deflected wide and generally seemed to spark his side into life. Reece James's introduction helped turn things round for Chelsea (PA) Jadon Sancho for Neto, 61 – 8 Brought on for Neto to try and make an impact and did exactly that. Constantly ran at the Betis defence and curled in a superb third goal after shifting it on to his right foot that sealed victory for Maresca's men. Assisted Caicedo for the cherry-on-top fourth for good measure. Advertisement Levi Colwill for Badiashile, 61 – 7 Chelsea's best passer in defence and brought on for the yellow-carded Badiashile as much for that attacking ability as for as his defensive prowess. Did exactly what was asked. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for Jackson, 80 – 7 Got the assist for Sancho's goal after he aggressively drove forward. Perhaps a bit lucky that his pass made it to Sancho but deserved that fortune because of the ambition of the run. Marc Guiu for Palmer, 87 – N/A Simply brought on to waste time and so that Palmer could receive a standing ovation from Chelsea fans. Not enough time to make an impact.
