ZINCHENKO UNUSED AGAISNT THE BEES

Ukraine national team star Oleksandr Zinchenko was left on the bench for the whole game as his Manchester City side cruised to a 2-0 win over newly prompted club Brentford in a Premier League encounter which took place at the Etihad Stadium earlier this week. Ukraine international Zinchenko is a versatile player who has featured in a number of positions for both club and country. He can play as a left-back, as a left winger or as a midfielder. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has even played the Ukraine international as a false nine.

Zinchenko watched on from the City substitutes’ bench as they beat the Bees with a goal in each half. The Bees were without their best players at the start of the game and they didn’t offer much in the way of attacking threat to the defending champions. Brentford were without star man Ivan Toney for the Manchester City game, while fellow striker Bryan Mbeumo started the game on the bench after overcoming his Covid-19 issues. Toney and Mbeumo are widely seen as the star players in the Brentford team.

Manchester City were kept at bay by the Bees for 40 minutes before England national team attacker Raheem Sterling won a penalty for the Premier League holders. From the resulting penalty, Manchester City took the lead through Algeria international Riyad Mahrez. The former Leicester City player has now been successful from 12 yards in eight successive attempts in the colours of Manchester City. It must be pointed out that Mahrez missed a spot kick for Algeria at the just concluded African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament across five cities in Cameroon.

Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne added a second goal for the Citizens in the last quarter of the Brentford game to seal a 2-0 win for his team and ensure that they got back to winning ways in the league.