Former City skipper Richard Dunne says Joao Cancelo’s style as an attacking full-back is almost unique in football.
Joao Cancelo was the Blues’ sole nomination for the Premier League player of the month for September, and no wonder.
He has made the slot his own with a series of scintillating displays and capped it with his second goal of the season, a striker’s run, chest control and nutmeg finish to give the Blues the lead at Bruges last night.
Dunne believes his role is becoming indispensable to Pep Guardiola.
“I love him being in the side,” said Dunne.
“In this style of football he’s perfect. The way he plays is beautiful. He’s like a number 10 playing at full-back.
“There has to be a little bit of everything to add variety and bring the pressure off the wingers.
“To me, he is outstanding. If I’m honest he wasn’t really outstanding when he first arrived, but he developed and it takes time to understand what the manager wants from the role.
“As for his goal, it looked like it was easy for him. The routines and movements are so well coordinated.
“That’s how City play. There’s no way you can set up to defend against it. Rather than look at it and think how they do it, just enjoy it!”
Last night, he was the runner and Foden the quarterback. And that is the beauty of City – the opposition cannot know where the next attack is coming from, when you have a “left back” who pops up just about anywhere on the pitch.
Guardiola used the term “left back” himself, but as far as City are concerned, the term is obsolete, other than being the area of the pitch where a player stands when the game kicks off.
Cancelo has shown that even having a defensive deficiency does not prevent you from being a highly effective “left back” in Guardiola’s team.
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