Manchester City opened their Premier League season with a comfortable and assured 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic either side of half-time were enough to secure all three points for the Cityzens, who are looking to defend their title once again.
Enzo Maresca, one of Pep Guardiola's former coaches at The Etihad, failed to get the better of his former colleague, as the Blues rarely caused too many problems.
Man City's only senior addition to the first-team squad in the summer transfer window so far has been Brazil international Savinho, and he enjoyed a strong debut in London.
Savinho's Premier League debut in numbers
The 20-year-old winger was given the nod to start the game by Guardiola, despite the likes of Jack Grealish and Phil Foden being in the squad, and caught the eye in the opening 45 minutes.
He was withdrawn with a minor knee problem, that should not cause him to miss any matches, but impressed with the minutes he did get, showcasing his direct play and creative threat on the right flank for the Premier League champions.
Wearing 26 on his sky blue jersey, you could be forgiven for thinking that City had brought Riyad Mahrez back to the club with the way he dribbled past players with ease.
As you can see in the image above, the left-footed starlet completed all of his attempted dribbles and created three chances for his teammates in just 45 minutes.
It was an impressive debut from the Brazil international and Guardiola could now land a dream signing for the former Girona star by landing another dynamic attacker before the end of the window.
Why Man City should sign Premier League wizard
TEAMtalk recently reported that the Cityzens are considering a late approach to sign Crystal Palace wizard Eberechi Eze, who is valued at around £60m by the London club.
As a right-footed attacking midfielder, the England international could line up as one of the two eights in Guardiola's side, with Kevin de Bruyne on the left, and use his preferred side to open up and feed the ball to Savio down the flank.
Appearances
27
Goals
11
Key passes per game
2.0
Big chances created
7
Assists
4
As you can see in the table above, Eze carries his own attacking threat as a scorer and has the quality to consistently create chances for his teammates, with 2.0 key passes per game.
The 26-year-old ace also ranked within the top 13% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the division for shot-creating actions per 90 (4.82), and the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90 (3.02).
This suggests that Eze, who was dubbed an "entertainer" by analyst Ben Mattinson, has the ability to constantly find his teammates in shooting positions whilst also being able to take opposition players out of the game.
Man City could sign "one of the best in the world" to replace Alvarez
He was crucial for his side last season
ByJoe NuttallAug 18, 2024
Therefore, the English whiz could be a dream for Savinho as he could carry the ball forward and open up on his favoured right foot to consistently feed the ball to the Brazilian winger, giving him plenty of opportunities to drive at his man and make things happen out wide.