- Eliaquim Mangala deputised for the injured John Stones against Feyenoord
- Stones is out of the Manchester City first team picture for at least six weeks
- The £32m 2014 arrival failed to convince at the heart of Pep Guardiola’s defence
- City should be worried at the panic Mangala induced in the players around him
There were moments when Eliaquim Mangala looked like a central defender befitting a club of Manchester City’s stature. Sadly, there were far more when you wondered if Pep Guardiola really can withstand six weeks without John Stones.
Stones, a flawless passer of the ball and carrier out from the back, has been imperious defensively all term, helping Nicolas Otamendi alongside him and dictating that Vincent Kompany’s fitness is not quite the issue it once was.
Mangala might well be leaned on for much more than this game – a meaningless group stage fixture against a fairly impotent Feyenoord – while Stones recovers from the hamstring injury sustained at the weekend.
Eliaquim Mangala is a £32m misfit at Manchester City and that does not look like changing
The Frenchman did not exactly ace his audition in front of Pep Guardiola against Feyenoord
That should worry Guardiola. Mangala is the £32million misfit in Manchester and that does not look like changing, with the player himself admitting as much on Monday afternoon.
‘It’s not so complicated because I am very realistic,’ Mangala said pragmatically. ‘I know in football anything can happen. I’m here today but maybe in two months, the summer, one year, I won’t be. You never know.
‘I am in the squad and in this club. I am going to work to help my team-mates, even when I am not playing.’
You wonder if Guardiola really can withstand six weeks without John Stones in his back line
Hardly the roaring words of a man who believes he will grasp hold of a genuine opportunity to stake his claim during a month Stones is missing.
The likelihood is that Kompany cannot play through until New Year and as such City should see more of Mangala.
That will prompt a sense of trepidation for supporters, who watched Mangala block well on Tuesday night, throwing himself in front of efforts, but offer further evidence why this three-year spell will not stretch to a fourth.
Vincent Kompany cannot be relied upon to go for long periods with his fitness issues
Unfortunately, the 26-year-old is clumsy in the challenge – picking up a booking for good measure – gangly in his running style and uncertain with the bouncing ball.
That Yaya Toure was the man dealing with the long kicks of Brad Jones rather than the centre half went some way to telling a story of nervousness on only his third start under Guardiola.
Ederson, normally so relaxed in goal, was edgy at the back passes and the sense of serenity City have enjoyed with Stones was non-existent. With Mangala, a mistake never feels too far away.