Marc Guehi’s Man City debut assessed in The Debrief as ex-Crystal Palace defender shows what Liverpool missed | Football News

Welcome to The Debrief, a Sky Sports column in which Adam Bate uses a blend of data and opinion to reflect on some of the key stories from the latest Premier League matches. This week:

• Guehi’s passing highlights quick impact at City
• Summerville’s touches in the box for West Ham
• Maatsen’s dynamism a key factor for Aston Villa

Marc Guehi is a quality Premier League player who has already shown that he can fit seamlessly into Manchester City’s side. His signing is a big miss for Liverpool and there is still time for his arrival at the Etihad Stadium to impact the Premier League title race.

Guehi almost scored minutes into his City debut and he would have earned an impressive assist too had Antoine Semenyo found the finish. But the £20m signing from Crystal Palace will settle for a clean sheet on his debut in the 2-0 win over Wolves.

Pep Guardiola only needed two training sessions to see up close why Guehi looks to be one of the bargain buys of the season. “How he moves, how he talks, how he sees what happens surrounding him, reading the situations,” said Guardiola. “Really good.”

As the City manager told reporters in that press conference after the game on Saturday, “it is not necessary to tell about Marc and who he is” because there is no great surprise that he has been able to make such a strong start in a City shirt. This was expected.

“You had a feeling from day one. I remember Ruben [Dias] had incredible focus in every action and winning duels. With the ball he had incredible composure.” Guardiola added: “He is a guy you can rely on.” Even so, joining a team like City is an adjustment.

Guardiola made the point that he had hardly worked with him yet but Guehi himself told Sky Sports that he had already noticed the difference in “attention to detail” at City. “It has gone up a level.” And the demands on him in possession are greater than before.

Guehi had 115 touches of the ball against Wolves. He completed 98 passes, which is not only 20 more than in any Premier League game for Crystal Palace this season, but it was more than any other player in the competition over the course of the weekend.

More concentration is required on the ball and, in a sense, more concentration off the ball too. There were fewer defensive actions to make but with City often defending high, he proved he could make that tactical adjustment while playing in a different formation.

“It is a good start but there is a lot of learning to do,” he said.

While the City fans were leaving the stadium having been quickly won over by the England international defender, Liverpool were producing another performance away to Bournemouth that suggests their supporters will already be regretting missing out.

With Ibrahima Konate and Giovanni Leoni out injured, Joe Gomez went off with a problem of his own early in the game, while Virgil van Dijk was at fault for the first goal and might have done better for the other two. Wataru Endo was his partner at the end.

Liverpool spent vast sums in the summer without a clear plan of how they might fit into the same team. Perhaps Konate had done enough last season to make that same argument against investing in Guehi but he would have future-proofed their defence.

Guehi’s preference for playing on the left would have made him a natural long-term replacement for Van Dijk. Instead, it is City who have acquired a peak-age centre-back – Guehi is 25 – who can be a big part of their future and help them win here and now.

When it was put to Guardiola that this contrasts with the approach in the previous winter window, during which City brought in Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, he agreed that the moves made by his team this time around represented something else.

Speaking about Guehi and Semenyo, Guardiola said: “They have not come for six months. They have come for many years so the transfer is a really good price and they are the perfect age, 25, 26, so an incredible signing for Manchester City for many years.”

As for this year, Guehi is clear about the target. “Chasing Arsenal and trying to get that title,” he told Sky Sports. “Every training session and every bit of recovery is geared towards winning.” Guehi’s signing will help with that. And hinder all of City’s rivals.

Summerville shines for West Ham

West Ham have spent this window prioritising a reshaping of their forward line, bringing in two new attacking options, so there was a certain irony that it was a powerful header from the diminutive Crysencio Summerville that sparked their 3-1 win over Sunderland.

It was a crucial win for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who finish the weekend still five points from Premier League safety but with renewed hope, nevertheless. Summerville will have a key role to play with his pace. His transformation has been significant.

The winger had his critics among the West Ham support but having more movement around him has changed the picture. Summerville is finding more space and when he can get that in the final third of the pitch then he has the quality to make an impact.

Summerville had nine touches in the opposition penalty box against Sunderland. That is the most that he has had in any Premier League game this season. If Nuno can find a way to keep getting the ball to Summerville in those areas, more wins will follow.

Maatsen’s dynamism key for Villa

Another player who took a little while to convince his own supporters was Ian Maatsen, brought in by Aston Villa for a significant sum from Borussia Dortmund last season. Lucas Digne retained his spot at left-back for a while but it is Maatsen’s now.

His dynamism was a feature of Villa’s 2-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday. Unai Emery has endured some difficulties coping with the physicality of Eddie Howe’s side in the past but Villa more than matched it at St James’ Park – and the statistics prove it.

Not only did Morgan Rogers cover more ground than any other player over the Premier League weekend but two of the three men in the competition to make 28 sprints were Villa players. Ollie Watkins, scorer of the second goal, was one. Maatsen was the other.

The 23-year-old Dutchman even shifted up to play as a left-winger late on after Digne was introduced – and he is good enough going forward to do it. But it is the fact that he has improved defensively that has earned Emery’s trust. He is having a fine season.