Jeremy Doku gives Man City a glimpse of new partnership to rival Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake
Manchester City faced West Ham at the London Stadium looking to stay top of the Premier League.
After failing to contribute to the goals or assists in his Manchester City debut against Fulham a fortnight ago, Jeremy Doku was, by his own admission, frustrated.
City scored five goals on that particular day, with Erling Haaland scoring three times, but Doku appeared uneasy and could only muster a few encouraging glimpses in his debut. He returned to City with increased confidence after a trip with Belgium and a beautiful assist to add to his resume. He immediately applied that confidence to the London Stadium match against West Ham.
Doku stated after his debut that playing with Erling Haaland would be simple, “He scores everything. He doesn’t require many opportunities to score.” That hypothesis was put to the test, though, as Doku sent in a strong cross from only two yards out and Haaland barely connected. On a day that was simply not his, Haaland had already wasted two other good opportunities.
Therefore, barely 40 seconds into the second half, with City trailing and Doku at fault for his defense, the Belgian decided to take matters into his own hands. He challenged Vladimir Coufal once more, and this time he got the bottom corner.
Doku made up for his earlier mistake by quieting the boisterous home crowd with a single attempt, but many of West Ham supporters will have to wait to view the replay because they weren’t back in their seats.
Doku looked far better on the left than the right when he switched wings with Phil Foden against Fulham, therefore at West Ham he stuck with the left wing. Josko Gvardiol was chosen as the support player at the London Stadium rather than Nathan Ake, presumably because of his ability to press into midfield after boasting about his time as a number six during the international break.
Doku, who had been standing up Coufal, had seen Gvardiol’s deft move into the area. However, Haaland had managed to miss the back-post cross, which was his first significant error of the day. For Haaland’s second miss, the striker missed from two yards out, leaving Coufal for dead.
Doku was giving City a taste of what Grealish often delivers on the left, with some additional directness and more of a willingness to push into the box, after just three days of training under Guardiola. His future career with City seemed quite promising after that performance.
There may be the beginnings of a new left-side partnership thanks to Gvardiol’s clever inside dashes, which Guardiola has rarely seen between a full-back and winger. Doku, however, was responsible for West Ham’s first goal when he lost possession of the ball and failed to follow Coufal’s move, which allowed Gvardiol to miss Coufal’s cross for James Ward-Prowse. Before the employer can fully trust the collaboration, that will need to improve.
Doku’s attempt into the bottom corner will help make up for his contribution to the goal, and as the game resumed, the Belgian stood up and made a gesture toward the West Ham supporters. He received a warm welcome from the visiting City supporters at the end of the game for his noteworthy performance.
He doesn’t lack confidence, which provides Guardiola a starting point.
Like Gvardiol, who in a way that Ake probably wouldn’t have did looked to support Doku wherever possible. Both might provide a serious alternative to the Ake and Grealish connection that helped City win the treble if they can both strengthen their defensive duties.