Stephen Warnock is right, rarely-seen Man City gem can no longer be ignored

Manchester City's 4-2 defeat to PSG was not all doom and gloom, as Stephen Warnock pointed out one huge positive from the game.

After a summer of spending, unsurprisingly, Enzo Maresca's squad is stacked the rafters, but some of the team's weaknesses remain.

That was evident during Pep Guardiola's return to the Etihad Stadium, as PSG ran out as convincing winners on Wednesday, 14 October.

Having conceded three goals in the opening 32 minutes, the second half was night-and-day from the first, and that was thanks to Maresca's changes.

Any concerns that the former Chelsea boss isn't up to the right standard should be gone by now, even after shipping four goals at home in the Champions League.

At the half-time break, Maresca sacrificed Ruben Dias, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku, bringing on Matheus Nunes, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Iliman Ndiaye in their places.

Ayyoub Bouaddi is being criminally underappreciated by Man City

Of course, Ndiaye stole the headlines pretty much straight away with his wicked cross for Erling Haaland's first goal of the night.

But it was Ayyoub Bouaddi, who has been flying under the radar since his arrival, who really changed everything in the middle of the park.

In the first 45 minutes, Man City had 46 per cent of possession. After Bouaddi's introduction, that jumped to 62 per cent rather drastically.

That change can be pin-pointed to the moment that the 19-year-old, who has just 32 minutes in the Premier League, stepped onto the Etihad pitch.

Speaking about him on BBC's Match of the Day (14 October), Warnock said: "By taking off Cherki, they added more steel, more energy into that midfield, and Bouaddi was key to that.

"Bouaddi, when he came on, just brought a calmness to that midfield. He loves to take the ball under pressure; he's always got an idea of where the next pass is.

"And he slowed the game down to his tempo, which is very difficult against PSG."

What problems could this cause for Enzo Maresca?

It seems simple enough to just give Bouaddi more minutes on the pitch in important games, but that would mean sacrificing a big-name player.

Rayan Cherki brings an elegance to the final third, and fans would hate to see him dropped, which then points the finger at Enzo Fernandez.

The former Chelsea star's runs alongside Haaland left Elliot Anderson susceptible, meaning that PSG were able to run riot in the first half.

Against the lesser teams, that's fine. But against PSG, having only one of Fernandez or Cherki was the better play, with Bouaddi alongside Anderson at the base of midfield.