Abdukodir Khusanov's debut for Manchester City was marked by early mistakes, leading to a goal against Chelsea within three minutes. As a 20-year-old defender new to the league, his jitters were evident when he failed to clear a header properly, resulting in an assist for Chelsea's opening goal. Khusanov’s inability to control the game raised concerns for Pep Guardiola's tactical plans. Added pressure ensued from Chelsea sensing vulnerability, and further errors culminated in a yellow card, leaving Khusanov's performance under scrutiny as City sought stability in defense.
Things had not started well for the 20-year-old Uzbekistan defender. Without trying to offend the good people at Belarusian club EnergetikBGU and Lens, stepping into the spotlight of Manchester City against a Chelsea team with Champions League ambitions was always going to be a tricky first assignment for someone who had been in the country less than a week.
City fans have always enjoyed a maverick, from Georgi Kinkladze to Mario Balotelli. Khusanov has taken the Italian's former No 45 shirt. Considering Pep Guardiola has called on his team to recover their ability to control matches, having a centre-back causing chaos was not helping with this strategy.
But with an unfit John Stones and teenager Vitor Reis the potential replacements, a change was not an option. Ilkay Gundogan enjoyed his best game since returning from Barcelona.
Khusanov failed to make a simple pass that was intercepted, and needed to lunge in on Cole Palmer to stop the former City forward from scoring, earning himself a yellow card to add to his list of offences.
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