Manchester City fans arriving at the Etihad on Tuesday evening might well have been somewhat perplexed by the lineup that was announced.
Indeed, for the showdown with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola would ring the changes, with a mammoth ten alterations on display from the 2-1 defeat versus Newcastle United.
Nico Gonzalez was the only player remaining in the XI from that humbling loss.
The Spaniard’s widespread tinkering did not work the way he would have wanted, whatsoever, as City ended up crashing to a second successive defeat in all competitions, with Leverkusen taking advantage of the disjointed feel to the hosts to inflict a 2-0 loss.
While Leverkusen were ultimately clinical and deserving of all three points, several of Guardiola’s reserve personnel did let him down big time against the visitors from Germany, with Savinho – in particular – putting in another poor showing down the flanks.
Savinho's poor performance in numbers
The Brazilian would have been hopeful that he could change Guardiola’s mind about who his starting attacker should be down the left wing by putting in a high-octane performance against Leverkusen, with Jeremy Doku pushing Savinho to one side with ease as of late.
Instead, however, the below-par forward remains on just one paltry goal for the season, with social media account City Chief going as far as to bash his display against Kasper Hjulmand’s men as offering “no end product” again.
The numbers don’t lie in this regard, too, with Savinho coming off the pitch at the end of a frustrating 90 minutes with just one shot attempted at the Leverkusen goal.
Moreover, despite successfully completing four successful dribbles from nine attempts, as per Sofascore, all of the South American’s trickery and flair on the night ultimately went to waste, with just one accurate cross amassed.
On top of that, the hit-and-miss 21-year-old also gave away possession 24 times, with his decision-making labelled as “puzzling” by journalist Amos Murphy.
Guardiola has defended Savinho in recent weeks by calling him an “aggressive” threat in attack at his best, with this criticism rampant when you consider he has put away just four goals from 64 City appearances.
But, even the Spaniard deciding to wear rose-tinted glasses at times can’t defend that shoddy showing against the Bundesliga giants, with the £30m attacker going down the route of becoming the club’s next Jack Grealish, in being another flashy and inconsistent flop.
He isn’t the only struggling star up top where the Grealish comparison rings true, however, as another underperformer begins to worry if he, too, is a high-profile acquisition gone wrong.
The Man City star turning into the next Grealish
At least Savinho, even if his efforts were largely inaccurate and clumsy, got himself involved in the thick of the action, having accumulated a mighty 76 touches of the ball come the full-time whistle.
On the contrary, Omar Marmoush – with his own tally of 18 touches – faded in and out of the contest as an unmemorable focal point, with his £59m price tag now weighing him down, much like Grealish’s excessive £100m valuation would be his dismal undoing.
Yet, Grealish did show flashes of his excellence at City here and there before an Everton loan move came to fruition, with 17 goals and 23 assists to date helping the sky blue half of Manchester to three Premier League titles.
Marmoush hasn’t quite got that in the bank, but he does have a respectable nine goals next to his name from just 36 outings.
Still, football is a fast-paced and fickle game, and for the riches that were splashed out on his services, after amassing a jaw-dropping 50 goal contributions for Eintracht Frankfurt, just one goal this season won’t cut the mustard, with his goal-shy display on Tuesday night further reinforcing how reliant City are on Erling Haaland to get them out of trouble.
Minutes played
65
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
18
Shots
0
Accurate passes
7/9 (78%)
Possession lost
7x
Total duels won
2/5
From his minimal touches of the ball, despite lasting 65 minutes on the Etihad turf, Marmoush would fail to register a single effort on Mark Flekken’s busy net.
In stark contrast, the constantly dangerous Haaland would manage a colossal four shots, from just nine touches.
With only two duels won, too, it’s unlikely that Guardiola will be keen to utilise the Egyptian as his lone striker moving forward, as he now finds himself in danger of fading into the background, rather than being an impactful statement signing, like the former Aston Villa man.
Time will only tell if he can kick on this season to show he belongs, with injuries not helping him this campaign so far, either.
But, based on his Leverkusen showing alone, he will be pushed back to the bench, alongside Savinho, when Premier League action returns at the weekend.
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