Jeremy Doku achieved a remarkable feat for Manchester City in the Champions League yesterday evening.
City got back to winning ways in style against Slovakian outfit Slovan Bratislava. Pep Guardiola’s side were 2-0 up within 15 minutes thanks to an early strike from Ilkay Gundogan, his first since returning to the club after a season with Barcelona. Phil Foden netted the second with a smart finish before Erling Haaland equalled Alessandro Del Piero’s 42-goal Champions League record with City’s third and James McAtee finished proceedings with the fourth.
Overall, the victory was relatively routine for City, who will be relieved to taste victory after two consecutive draws against Arsenal and Newcastle in recent weeks.
And Haaland wasn't the only player to break a record on the night. City winger Jeremy Doku terrorised opposition full-backs with his directness, trickery and sheer pace to finish the match with 26 touches in the home side’s penalty area – the most by a player on record in a Champions League match since 2008/09.
The Belgian joined from the French side Rennes in 2023 but was not entirely convincing during his first season in England. There’s no doubting his athleticism but, as is usually the case with young players, he failed to provide an end product consistently. Doku finished the season with a Premier League medal to his name, with three goals and eight assists for his efforts.
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So far this term, the 22-year-old has featured nine times in all competitions, registering one goal and two assists, one of which came against Slovan.
After the impressive showing, Guardiola voiced his delight with the winger, saying: “You have to do what you have to do. It’s a joy to be manager of this team. I love it, I love them.
“To come here with this incredible respect and run and the beginning until 2-0 was easier because they were more open, after that they sat back with what has happened lately with most teams - 18 players in the box so it’s not easy.
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“But we created a lot of chances and I feel we are improving step-by-step how we attack them but we still miss one or two actions.
“No injuries, players who didn’t play lately had a lot of minutes so a really good night.”
Next up for City is a clash with Fulham in the Premier League as they look to return to winning ways domestically.
Topics: Man City, Champions League, Pep Guardiola
Luke Davies