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Khusanov confidence 'totally shot' by Guardiola, long Man City absence mooted
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01/28/2025 12:24 PM
Abdukodir Khusanov may be out of the Man City side for an extended period after Pep Guardiola’s huge mistake in starting him against Chelsea, according to Richard Keys.
The former Sky Sports presenter wrote in his blog on 27 January, the decision to start Khusanov was “asking for trouble”, after the Uzbekistani international only had one training session with his new teammates and was unable to communicate with them properly.
Khusanov lost the ball in the third minute after attempting a headed back-pass to his goalkeeper, Ederson, Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson was able to intercept and provide an easy lay-off for Noni Madueke.
The former RC Lens defender was then almost immediately booked for a foul trying to rectify another major error.
Speaking about the decision to start Khusanov, Keys said he felt for the young defender, and worried that he may face a lengthy spell on the side-lines due to his confidence being “totally shot.”
Keys said in his blog: “This one also had me scratching my head at the weekend. What was Guardiola doing giving a debut to 20-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov v Chelsea?
“Guardiola was asking for trouble. And he got it. The kid's first touch led to a goal and his second would've seen him sent-off if Oliver had been the ref.
“Khusanov doesn't speak English. He'd had one training session with his new colleagues and yet he was given a start in the most important area in a team.
“What's the one thing that's been happening to City regularly this season? Yep. They can't stop conceding goals.
“Successful teams need to be strong at the back. That requires big players. Experienced players. John Stones-like players. Not 20-year-old debutants, who can't speak to their team-mates.
“The poor lad had a beast. When Guardiola eventually took him off – after 55 minutes – not at half-time as he should've done, but that would've been an admission he'd got it wrong – Khusanov looked close to tears. He was replaced by Stones – who should've started of course. And don't tell me 'he wasn't fit'. If he wasn't fit he shouldn't have come on.
“I felt for Khusanov. I wonder how long it will be before we see him again now his confidence is totally shot?”
Despite conceding early, City would rally and win the match 3-1 (25 January), thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Man City defender Khusanov will bounce back after tricky debut
Football Insider Verdict
Despite having “the hardest three minutes of his life”, according to Gary Neville, Khusanov bounced back and started to find his feet, until Guardiola substituted him in the 55th minute.
Jackson is arguably one of the most difficult strikers a young centre-back could face on his debut, the former Villareal man epitomises the pace and technical ability that defines the Premier League.
However, Khusanov nullified the striker well after his mistake, and looked composed with the ball at his feet.
Guardiola is the sort of manager who will be strangely pleased that his youngster made that mistake, because his response was not to start punting the ball as soon as it got near him, Khusanov insisted on continuing to pass his way out of trouble.
The mistake captured headlines, although Robert Sanchez managed to ultimately provide cover, but the key narrative should be that, after one training session, Guardiola was willing to take the risk of starting Khusanov against a title-contender.
Many players struggle and make mistakes in their first season as they learn the rigours of Guardiola’s tactic-heavy style of football, and Khusanov will be able to treat this season as a learning experience before having a proper pre-season with the Sky Blues’ coaching staff.
In other news, Stefan Borson says City will spend £100million on a new signing.
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