21 | Rayan Ait-Nouri - 2025/26

Thought he had a really good game. Pushing the fullbacks up for width will leave us exposed if we turn the ball over cheaply in midfield, which is why both him & Nunes looked repeatedly out of position in the first half. However, I thought he defended well, was great with the ball and finally made the right choice in the box.
 
Very underrated.

Defensively so good, and this system is toughest on the fullbacks.

Was missing the final pass and finally did it.

Performances like this keep being the norm, defensive and offensive performance.
 
Doesnt seem to know how to stop a cross but decent game from him, getting better with more frequent minutes.

Hope he remembers that ball for his assist the next time he has an opportunity to do it. He should be doing that at every chance he gets and not over playing it trying to chop inside, he'll get a tonne of assists if he keeps doing that.
 
Started poorly. He gave the ball away several times in the first 10 mins but was good after that. Great assist and he is technically suberb.
 
Is Pep asking him to roll the ball under his foot nearly every time he receives it ? ;-)

A good performance once he settled into the game, topped off with a great assist for the goal.
 
AFCON was the making of him and now he's got four months less in the legs after missing most of the first half of the season with injury. Keep going lad. Not at his best yet but he's getting there. Miles better than he was pre-Christmas.
 
bluesmith said:
Makes a great run, gets the space, looks across twice to see where the pass should go. Brilliant.
Click to expand...
This.
Isn't that just perfect wing play? Text book material.

Just watched it again and I love it.
Cherki's surprise perfectly weighted pass into the pocket,
AIN's direct one-touch (!!) cross down the 6 yard line
and Jimi Hendrix with his perfect just-in-time arrival.

Football couldn't be any better. Make a statue of that full move :)
That's what breaks down a tight defence. Too fast to react.

Sadly I don't expect Doku to do stuff like that. Makes me mad that he regularly stops, takes his time to find out which side he wants to go and doesn't even watch what would be best for his mates waiting (snore!) in the box..

Another example for me that AIN is much more a winger than a full back.
He was really busy in defence and worked hard,
but against a quick active winger he has huge problems to block the cross - in contrast to Nunes (who gets better match by match, incredible!).

Still time to improve. His beard makes him look a bit older, but he's only 25 come June, Ait Nouri.

Can't wait to witness many more of those crosses.
 
He is a quality player.
He was caught up-field a couple of times and received a bizarre, spinning bounce that caught him out following an attempted clearance.
We need to learn that our fullbacks are given tactical instructions and it will mean that they are caught up-field, or cental, and vulnerable to a swift counter. That does not make them defensively suspect: it makes them a team player who follows the coach's instructions for the benefit of the team.
He's had the equivalent of nine full games for us now and is doing rather nicely.
 
B\connellblue said:
Couldn't get a game for nearly 12 months and Pep played anyone there ahead of him. Now starts every game. Riddle me that.
He's doing well for the record.
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Injuries and AFCON, not much of a riddle I'd have thought even for someone of limited intelligence? Don't know where your 'nearly 12 months' comes from.
 
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