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Premier League champions Manchester City started off their 2021-22 Premier League campaign on a bitter-sweet note. They lost their prolific striker, Sergio Aguero, who departed to join Barcelona. However, they did gain significantly as well.
They replaced their frontal missing piece and their number 10 with Jack Grealish. The former Aston Villa forward arrived at the Etihad as their most expensive inbound player. However, the Sky Blues' trip to North London ended as a shocker as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in their opening Premier League match.
Despite having maintained ball possession for more than three-fourths of the game, Manchester City succumbed to Son Heung-min's curler from outside the box. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiol's men snapped themselves back to reality and welcomed Norwich City home in game week 2 of the Premier League.
The 90-minute rampage saw Pep Guardiola's men bulge the net five times while conceding none. The team meant business and their intentions to send messages to the doubters were crystal clear.
While Manchester City ready themselves to host Arsenal in game week 3 of the Premier League, let us reflect on last weekend's match and find out who the best players within Man City's squad that thrashed Norwich 5-0 were. On that note, here's a look at the
5 best Manchester City players from Premier League Game Week 2
#5 Rodri
Placed in the center of the park, Rodri aced the job of being a hurdle to Norwich's attack. The Spaniard prevented the opposition from causing any harm with his off-the-ball movements and timely interceptions.
Manager Pep Guardiola was pleased with his number 16. The 25-year-old would have had his name on the scoresheet in the 28th minute should he have managed to get his foot to Gundogan's curler that went unattended by Norwich's defense.
Acting as the main channel of Manchester City's passing from one half to the other, Rodri managed to keep his passing accuracy well above 90%.
#4 Rúben Dias
Arguably, Manchester City's MVP at the moment — Rúben Dias — had a dream debut season with the Cityzens. He managed to find a spot into the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League Team of the Year.
Adjudged Manchester City's best player of the year 2020-21, Rúben Dias was bestowed with greater responsibilities ahead of their second fixture in the league. After a below par performance versus Spurs, Dias managed to live upto the reputation in game week 2.
Having completed almost 110 passes before the final whistle, the Portuguese defender achieved a pass success rate of 96%. Apart with excelling in his role at the heart of defense, Rúben Dias didn't shy away from moving up the turf to assist his forwards.
One such move saw the Manchester City number 3 nudge the ball over the entire Norwich team to find Riyad Mahrez, who slotted it home comfortably.
#3 Aymeric Laporte
Manchester City's center of defense is secure with Rúben Dias and Aymeric Laporte taking charge. However, the latter managed to put on a performance that was a tad bit better than that of his partner.
Manchester City enjoyed a majority of possession during the entire course of the game. The same helped their defenders charge upwards and threaten the opposition defense.
Intense pressure from all of Manchester City's on-field players left Norwich City stranded and confused. The result saw the home team rewarded with six corners as opposed to Norwich's one.
Aymeric Laporte found himself in the right place at the right time during an Ilkay Gundogan corner. After missing out on a header opportunity, Laporte was fortunate enough to find the ball back at his feet following Rashica's clumsy clearance. The Spaniard slotted the ball past Tim Krul amidst chaos.
#2 Jack Grealish
Manchester City's most-expensive player had to wait until his second game to score his first goal in the sky blue jersey.
Having played 75 minutes before being subbed-off to make way for Mahrez, Jack Grealish put on a stellar performance. The former Aston Villa captain was constantly on his toes and barely missed a pass.
With his dangerous positioning, Jack Grealish was successful in drawing out the opposition defense which often paved the way for his teammates to run into the box freely.
Although Jack Grealish's first Manchester City goal came as a result of an unintentional deflection, City fans made sure they cheered their newcomer to the fullest.
#1 Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus caused all sorts of problems for the visitors and added another matchball to his collection after putting up a man-of-the-match performance.
The Brazilian created the most chances (5) in the game and paved the way for Jack Grealish to score his first goal for his new club. Wrecking havoc down the right side of the pitch, Gabriel Jesus collected two assists. The second one came in the 71st minute.
A brilliant overlap from Gabriel Jesus managed to leave Norwich's defense shredded into pieces before finding an unmarked Raheem Sterling close to the goal line. Thus, helping him find a place on the scoresheet.
Jesus's fine performance surely proved his manager's decision to start him, - unlike the first game where he came from the bench - to be the right one.
