DANNY MURPHY: Jeremy Doku the dribbler shows his class in Man City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool… not since Raheem Sterling has Pep Guardiola had a more direct attacker than the Belgian flyer

• Jeremy Doku’s addition is almost unfair given how good Man City have been 
• The Belgian’s direct running encourages midfielders to get higher up the pitch 
• It’s All Kicking Off: Jack Grealish has lost his zip… we need him to get it back 

The first time Jeremy Doku went past Trent Alexander-Arnold, I though ‘Wow’. 

My teenage son is a big fan even though he’s a Red and knows all his stats on FIFA. 

I’m not surprised, it doesn’t matter what era of football, there is nothing more exciting than seeing a winger dribbling at speed.

It’s almost unfair given how good Manchester City have been in recent years that they’ve now got another, different major weapon. Not since Raheem Sterling has Pep Guardiola had an attacking player who is quite as direct as the Belgian flyer.

I played with wide men Aaron Lennon and Dennis Rommedahl who had both pace and an intent about their running.

Jeremy Doku’s direct running allows midfielders to get higher up the pitch as they know he will carry the ball forward

The Belgian caused problems for Trent Alexander-Arnold throughout the first half of the game

Your browser does not support iframes.

What it does for the rest of the team, and midfielders in particular, is encourage you to get higher up the pitch because you know they are going to carry the ball forward. With a more technical player, you might pause to wait and see what they do.

I saw that with City on Saturday. Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez could use Doku as an outlet and then get more advanced themselves. Doku was clearly a shrewd bit of business after City lost Riyad Mahrez. 

I don’t think Guardiola will feel restricted to choosing between him and Jack Grealish as first-choice. He knows he’s got two excellent options on the left and if Phil Foden ever needs a rest or is unavailable, I can’t see why Doku couldn’t work just as well on the right, trying to get the byline.

I’m told Doku completed 11 dribbles in the game which is unusually high and to an extent I think the way Liverpool play suited him.

Jurgen Klopp probably wanted to be more compact but when it’s in the culture of the team for Trent Alexander-Arnold to step into midfield, it will leave gaps for the City wide players to exploit.

City sought out Doku whenever they could as they knew Liverpool could be exposed 1-vs-1

I predicted that might be the case in last week’s column and it came to pass.

City tried to get the ball to Doku whenever they could, knowing Liverpool may be isolated one-against-one. 

He caused Alexander-Arnold problems in the first half with his explosive pace and ability to go both ways, outside and inside.

I actually thought it was a shrewd move by Liverpool to push Alexander-Arnold further up the pitch in the second half where he could utilise his passing ability because leaving him solely to concentrate on Doku would have been a waste of his talent.

Instead, Joel Matip and Alexis Mac Allister were asked to share the responsibility of stopping Doku in the second half. It was a roll of the dice by Klopp but an educated one that paid off.

Yes, Doku still had a lot of joy and his cutback nearly provided Erling Haaland with a second goal which would have killed the game. But it also gave Alexander-Arnold the chance to influence things in a positive way, which he did of course with his fine equaliser.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article