Tijjani Reijnders must be loving life at Manchester City, playing with some of the best players in the world and working under arguably the greatest manager of all time.
On his Premier League debut, the 27-year-old was exceptional against Wolves as he scored a goal and provided an assist — kickstarting his time in English football in ideal fashion.
However, plenty of other City players were impressive on Saturday as well, with Oscar Bobb lauding Rayan Cherki after he came off the bench and scored a splendid goal from outside the box.
The Norwegian was a bright spark for the Sky Blues as well but it is hard to look past Tijjani Reijnders as their best player on the day.
Tijjani Reijnders must love playing with Nico Gonzalez after Wolves vs Man City
One man who Reijnders would have enjoyed playing alongside is Nico Gonzalez, who was excellent as Manchester City’s holding midfielder against Wolves.
With Rodri still not fully fit, City fans would have been eager to see the Spaniard impress in his absence and he certainly did — especially defensively, winning duels with ease, crunching into challenges and imposing himself from the get-go.
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Even in possession, Manchester City midfielder Nico Gonzalez made his mark — particularly when carrying the ball as he weaved past his opponents on several instances while also breaking the lines with ease against Wolves.
Nico Gonzalez and Jorgen Strand Larsen in action during Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
While Reijnders deserves all the credit in the world for his exploits, Nico’s defensive awareness, technical quality and energetic display allows the Dutchman to push forward and wreak havoc in the final third.
Pep Guardiola feels Reijnders can replace Rodri on an emergency basis but considering how impactful he is further up the pitch, the player himself will be relieved that the former Porto dynamo looks like a top-class defensive midfielder in the making.
Manchester City News revealed Manchester City were ready to sell Nico but based on his last two performances against Palermo and Wolves, the Spaniard is showing why he merits patience.
Nico Gonzalez stats for Man City vs Wolve
At 23 years of age, it would have been premature for City to get rid of him after a few months.
If Rodri suffers persistent fitness issues, as often occurs when a player suffers an ACL injury, the best way for City to accommodate Reijnders would be to keep the faith in the La Masia graduate as their starting number six.
The stats back up just how well Nico played.
NICO GONZALEZ STATS VS WOLVES
DUELS WON 11/13
TACKLES WON 3/3
PASSES INTO THE FINAL THIRD 14
DISTANCE COVERED 12.4KM
DRIBBLES COMPLETED 4/4
The Spaniard won 11 out of 13 duels while coming out on top in all of his three tackles, emphasising how dominant he was defensively.
Furthermore, Nico even covered 12.4km during the contest.
Completing all of his dribbles while playing 14 passes into the final third, Nico well and truly had a brilliant game.