Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson made a huge impression on the Blues faithful with his all-action display against Tottenham at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville last night, and it wasn't just his shot-stopping abilities that caught the eye.
Pep Guardiola's side cruised to a 3-0 win over last season's Premier League runners up courtesy of goals from John Stones, Raheem Sterling and Brahim Diaz.
It was a totally dominant performance from City, with the scoreline flattering Mauricio Pochettino's men, in all truth.
Image: PA
Advert
But when called upon, Ederson, who kept a clean sheet for a second consecutive International Champions Cup game - having been off the pitch when Oscar Rodriguez scored for Real Madrid in the previous match, was in fine form.
Not only did he produce a series of excellent saves from a variety of angles and distances to keep Spurs at bay, he displayed just why Pep Guardiola splashed out £35 million for his services with an outrageous goal kick that nearly landed him an assist.
Image: PA
Advert
It's common knowledge that Guardiola demands goalkeepers who are handy with their feet and have the ability to launch attacks.
Ederson, boasting an absolute sledgehammer of a left peg, has that in abundance and demonstrated his devastating distribution in the 68th minute last night when he picked out Sergio Aguero perfectly from his own goal-kick.
Credit: Premier Sports
Advert
The distance and accuracy to put the ball right into the path of Aguero is quite remarkable, while Ederson also showed real intelligence in knowing that his striker could not be flagged offside from a goal-kick.
Aguero would then take the ball down wonderfully, shift the ball onto his left foot and strike a sweet effort that smacked the post for the second time in his time on the pitch - robbing Ederson of a sensational 70-yard assist.
Here's how City fans and neutrals reacted:
Guardiola was asked about Ederson's long but wonderfully accurate punt after the game, and couldn't help but gush.
Advert
As quoted by Goal's Sam Lee at the post-match press conference, he said:
"He has this quality, in the goal kicks when the opposition makes high pressing and it's complicated now we have the chance to put the ball in the other box, and of course we have a little bit more space in the middle. And of course he created a good chance for Sergio to score a goal.
"When I was at Bayern Munich we played Benfica in the Champions League and he was there, and when we tried to analyse them we saw it four or five times and we organised a meeting to say 'Guys, what's the matter? What is that?'.
Advert
"We tried to work about that because he has this quality to put the ball in the other box and it's not offside. We spread out the opponents and we can have more space in the middle."
Put your money on Ederson being the top assister in the Premier League in 2017/18.
Featured Image Credit: Premier SportsTopics: Manchester City, Sergio Aguero, Tottenham Hotspur, Ederson
