Pep Guardiola has praised Riyad Mahrez’s contribution to Manchester City’s promising season – but hinted that the winger is still not as good as he was last season. The Algeria star has racked up a new personal best in terms of his goal tally, taking his total to 21 with two second half goals in the 4-1 rout of Manchester United last week. His ability to score goals, both from open play and the spot, has placed him ahead of Jesus this season – but Guardiola says he has room for improvement and believes he has still not hit the heights he reached in the latter stages of last season
Pep Guardiola said: “He has scored a lot of goals, penalties, assists and everything. A part of that is the quality he has to read the game perfectly – when he has to attack he must give extra passes. But I would not say it is his best season because he has played in the Premier League at a high level for many years. Last season he was exceptional, he was so important in the last quarter of the season and playing really well. He knows my opinion. I try to push him a lot. We struggle together because I know the quality that he has. He is a player that I admire for the way he handles the pressure. He likes to play on the biggest stages and it is difficult to find players like that in top clubs. not just me, the whole club has an incredibly high opinion about him and his quality.”
Guardiola is referring to the fact that, while Mahrez only managed nine goals in the second half of last season, they included vitally important strikes against Borussia Dortmund and in both legs of the semi-final against Paris St Germain.
