Man City player with 94% pass completion and five recoveries vs Swansea set for nailed-on starting role
Man City came back from conceding an early goal against Swansea to win 3-1 in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on 29 October.
Pep Guardiola was relieved by his side turning around their tie against the Swans, courtesy of goals from Man City summer signing Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush.
The Spaniard put out a strong but rotated team to face the Welsh outfit, including a start for Man City wonderkid Divine Mukasa.
Also amongst the three goals was Jeremy Doku, who impressed once again in a dazzling display for the Cityzens.
Doku shines for Man City as they dispatch Swansea after early scare
The Belgium international sparked the comeback in the 39th minute with a well-taken goal to level the match.
Doku was a major threat in front of the net, taking five shots in 90 minutes as he caused the Swansea defence a whole host of problems.
Yet, it wasn’t just his goalscoring threat that made the headlines, creatively he was imperative to the way City played.
| Selected stats vs Swansea (29 October) | Jeremy Doku |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Shots (on target) | 5 (1) |
| Goals | 1 |
| Accurate passes (%) | 44/47 (94%) |
| Touches | 68 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
The ex-Stade Rennes winger racked up four key passes, maintaining a 93 per cent passing accuracy rate to dictate proceedings down the left-hand side.
Moreover, he picked up the ball 68 times, carrying the ball to drive at the full-back and create space for his teammates.
Doku’s brilliance sees Savinho and Oscar Bobb fight it out for right-wing spot
The 23-year-old has notched two goals and three assists in 13 appearances so far this season and is showing his full potential from when City signed him back in August 2023.
Much of Doku’s criticism has been his lack of an end product, yet the pieces are beginning to fall together with the highly competent winger capable of ruining any defender on his day.
His excellence will likely see him pin down the left-wing or right-wing spot for the foreseeable future, leaving the likes of Savinho and Oscar Bobb scrapping for the final wide attacking role.
The speedsters both have eyes on the 2026 World Cup and will need regular game time to impress their national team managers.
For Bobb, a place in the Norway squad seems all but guaranteed, but Savinho will be competing for a place in a stacked and very competitive Brazil team.
Carlo Ancelotti must be selective with his players and if the number 26 is failing to feature regularly under Guardiola, he could easily be dropped for the highly-coveted international tournament.