BBC pundit Chris Sutton pointed out the clear dominance of Manchester City’s winger, Jeremy Doku, over Brighton’s James Milner during City’s 2-1 victory. Manchester City hosted Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium, aiming to return to the winning column after losing their previous two league matches.
Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland scored the goals that secured the three points for Pep Guardiola’s team, but it was another attacking player in the City lineup that caught the attention of a pundit who didn’t hold back in expressing his views.
Sutton, commenting in the live match tracker on BBC Sport, made the following observation about the one-on-one battle between Doku and Milner when the game was just 30 minutes in:
“It’s a complete mismatch, isn’t it? Doku versus Milner? Doku is getting close again; we could see what he was trying to do there. If Milner had a towel, well, he wouldn’t throw it in, but it’s clear that only one side is winning that contest.”
During Doku’s 75 minutes on the field, the Belgian successfully completed five out of six dribbles attempted, most of which were against Milner, who was playing as a right-back for Brighton. Doku also provided an assist for City’s first goal within the first seven minutes of the match, underscoring his early and consistent threat, much to Milner’s frustration.
Doku was so effective on the left wing against Milner that De Zerbi decided to substitute the Englishman at half-time. Considering these facts, it’s evident that Sutton’s comments in the first half accurately reflected the trouble Doku was causing Milner in the early stages of the game.
Leave a Reply