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1 day ago
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It took fewer than six minutes of Abdukodir Khusanov’s debut for the £33.8m centre-back to be given a round of sarcastic applause for making a successful five-yard backpass to Ederson. Needless to say, things had not started well for the 20-year-old Uzbekistan defender.
Without trying to offend the good people at Belarusian club Energetik‑BGU and Lens, stepping into the spotlight of Manchester City against a Chelsea team with Champions League ambitions was always going to be a tricky first assignment for someone who had been in the country less than a week.
If Khusanov was hoping for a comforting opening few minutes to settle his nerves, he was sorely disappointed. City were behind within three minutes and - without being harsh - it was all his fault. A missed header and a confused attempt to nod the ball back to Ederson that made it nowhere near the goalkeeper, allowing Nicolas Jackson to tee up Noni Madueke for a tap-in, leaving Khusanov with quivering lip and looking like a child trying to come up with an excuse for smashing a family heirloom.
City fans have always enjoyed a maverick, from Georgi Kinkladze to Mario Balotelli. Khusanov has taken the Italian’s former No 45 shirt. Considering Pep Guardiola has called on his team to recover their ability to control matches, having a centre-back causing chaos was not helping with this strategy.
Many in the stands were wondering if the head coach would send his defensive substitutes to warm up and hook Khusanov before things got worse. But with an unfit John Stones and teenager Vitor Reis the potential replacements, a change was not an option.
With his nerves shattered and Chelsea sensing blood, Khusanov failed to make a simple pass that was intercepted, and needed to lunge in on Cole Palmer to stop the former City forward from scoring, earning himself a yellow card to add to his list of offences.
There was a period where Khusanov’s teammates were not confident in passing to him and avoided it. Ilkay Gündogan sent one ball his way to make him feel involved, while Bernardo Silva dropped deeper in order to help with possession in the defensive line, bringing calmness between the centre-backs.
Seeing one of their teammates suffer brought out the best in City’s character as their senior players dragged them back into the game. Gündogan had, arguably, his best game since returning from Barcelona in the summer, Erling Haaland was at his most threatening, physically dominating the Chelsea centre-backs. Phil Foden was majestic and Josko Gvardiol was imposing in defence and attack. City have rarely looked composed for a sustained period and maybe watching Khusanov’s troubles pushed them suffered to bounce back as a collective.
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Khusanov is not the first expensive City centre-back to start his Premier League career against Chelsea. In 2014, Eliaquim Mangala rocked up with a reputation as one of Europe’s most promising defenders, blessed, like Khusanov, with speed. The Frenchman was imperious against Diego Costa. City thought they had found someone that would be at the heart of their defence for the next decade but Mangala is now playing for Estoril and that first outing in sky blue was as good as it got.
What it ultimately tells us is that no one should be judged on their debut, regardless of age, price tag or opponent. Khusanov had been dealt a difficult hand, considering he has been thrown into a back four short on confidence after a collapse at Paris Saint-Germain and being placed next to a midfielder playing at right-back.
City started to dominate the match and found something akin to control as they worked to make amends on their teammate’s behalf and build a foundation for victory. Fellow debutant Omar Marmoush made a very positive impression, apart from his penchant for being offside, which cost him a goal, and Gvardiol scored a deserved equaliser to alleviate the pressure and ensure no one looked back.
When Khusanov was substituted in the 54th minute he was given a show of support, embraced by his teammates and Guardiola, who later said: “He will learn. These kinds of actions are the best lesson you can take.”
He can take the positives from making a few blocks and finding out about the level he needs to reach. It will be difficult for him to mentally recover and with Kai Havertz, Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah the chief threats for City’s opponents in their next three Premier League games, things will not get easier.
Khusanov will be hoping he is the anti-Mangala, and this is as bad as it gets. At least he could raise a smile at the full-time whistle, thanks to the teammates that found the fight and control they have missed for most of the season.
