I thought he looked like a senior striker, and not just an optimistic kid breaking through. His movements seemed more deliberate, and whereas in the past he's allowed himself to become peripheral, yesterday he dropped deep if the ball didn't come to him and demanded to be given the ball.
And the lovely thing is, he's quite good at this 'dropping back deep' thingy, though we know that since his Nigerua U17 days. It's definitely an asset we should utilize when he's on the pitch. The way he receives and carries the ball and distributes it makes him an ideal candidate for a Pep-style false. 9, I think.
Did anyone else think he looked different yesterday? Carried himself a bit differently?
I thought he looked like a senior striker, and not just an optimistic kid breaking through. His movements seemed more deliberate, and whereas in the past he's allowed himself to become peripheral, yesterday he dropped deep if the ball didn't come to him and demanded to be given the ball.
In taking his goal, he was confident enough to hit it early, in the past I think he'd have taken another touch, and smashing it into the top corner is a ballsy finish too.
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I thought he was notably more assured.
Yes. The previous two substitute appearances he looked a bit lost. Not surprisingly either. This time he was perhaps boosted by the prospect of a few games ahead of him instead of scraps. Either way, it was a more mature performance.
His scoring record is pretty amazing yet we still aren't really sure what sort of all-round player he is/can be. I'd love it if we could find a way to engage him a bit more.
Against Palace in the League Cup last year. A good assist for De Bruynes goal, a fantastic pass to give Navas a clear chance (ofc he missed) and a lovely assist for Garcias goal. Hasn't showed great passing since that though but the quality is definitely there.Although I've never been overly impressed with his passing for the first team, which is surprising considering his history as a #10. I can't really think of any great passes he's made - maybe it's just a confidence/role thing and he'll start showing that side more with a run of games. He did drop back and start the move that lead to Nolito's offside goal.
Against Palace in the League Cup last year. A good assist for De Bruynes goal, a fantastic pass to give Navas a clear chance (ofc he missed) and a lovely assist for Garcias goal. Hasn't showed great passing since that though but the quality is definitely there.
The dream would be to find a way he and Aguero can play together the way Pep accommodated Muller and Lewandowski. Not to use all the time, but just so Iheanacho has more of a role in the squad than Sergio's understudy and can play more regularly than just whenever Aguero is ruled out through injury or suspension.
And what do we do if he scores a bunch of goals and is brilliant in the next 4 games but then Aguero comes back. Kelechi clearly isn't going to leapfrog him, but how can Pep just say well done and see you next time Aguero loses his head?