“Manchester City” has been in a real “four-front” mode this season: they are seriously competing for the main prize in the English Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and the European Champions League. Josep Guardiola’s team took the next step on this path in the fourth round of the domestic cup - they defeated the lower league “Salford City” with a score of 2:0 and the “city” advanced to the next round.
This match was also particularly significant for us in another aspect. Uzbekistan national team defender Abdukodyr Khusanov played the full 90 minutes for the first time in the match against “Salford City” after receiving a blow to the face in the match against “Liverpool”. Before that, he came on as a substitute against Fulham in the previous round of the championship.
Interestingly, in this match, the coaching staff led by Guardiola was not completely satisfied with the defenders' play. As experts noted, Guardiola only allowed Khusanov to play fully, and instead of the other three defenders, he brought in other players throughout the game. That is, this decision seemed to be a sign of both trust in Khusanov and demanding defense.
Experts who analyzed the game also noted Abdukadir's contribution to keeping the City goal intact. In particular, cityxtra.co.uk expert Hamish McRae highly appreciated Khusanov's work and noted his activity in organizing the game. At the same time, it is said that the defense had to "sweat" a lot: the opponent had to make a lot of efforts to stop the quick Kelly N'May and the physically strong Ryan Graydon. Despite the difficult episodes, he fulfilled his task:
- Khusanov showed activity in organizing the game well in most situations. However, he had to work hard in defense. In particular, he had to make a lot of efforts to stop the very fast Kelly N'Mai and the physically strong Ryan Graydon among the opponent players. Despite the difficulties, he fulfilled his task, - wrote Hamish McRae, an expert from the cityxtra.co.uk website, who highly appreciated Abdukadir's game.
After the match, the club itself also gave Abdukadir special recognition: Manchester City, through its social media page, named Khusanov as the best player of the game and announced that fans had the opportunity to win a T-shirt with the Uzbek defender's autograph. This is a reliable signal of the player's work.
Interesting figures were also revealed from the statistical side. According to the calculations of the authoritative portal OptaJoe, the victory over Salford City was the 17th consecutive victory for the "city" at their home stadium - the "Etihad" - in the framework of the FA Cup.
Most importantly, this result is close to the historical mark. Because the current record was set 145 years ago: from December 1873 to February 1881, "Clapham Rovers" recorded a winning streak of 17 matches at home in the FA Cup. So, if "Manchester City" wins again in their next home game, they will officially take possession of the absolute record for this indicator.
Of course, there is still a long time before the end of the national cup. But one thing is certain: "Manchester City" is seriously determined to go far in the tournament, and Abdukadir Khusanov is proving from game to game that he is becoming one of the main defenders of the team.
Therefore, every step of the "City" on the way to the FA Cup, as well as Khusanov's game, is worth watching with special attention. If the role of the Uzbek defender in a team that is close to the record increases, it is a big plus not only for the club, but also for our national football.
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