Category: Football, Sports

Mateo Kovacic Shines: Crucial Goals Secure Manchester City’s Win

Mateo Kovacic Shines: Crucial Goals Secure Manchester City's Win

Mateo Kovacic found his scoring form to help Manchester City get back on track with a victory, as Pep Guardiola humorously described his performance as a “copy and paste” of Rodri’s style. With City’s key defensive midfielder, Rodri, sidelined due to an ACL injury, Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan stepped in to fill the gap as a double pivot.

City’s style of play remained largely unchanged, with both Kovacic and Gundogan spending much of the game in Fulham’s half. The match ended in a thrilling 3-2 win for City, ending a run of two consecutive Premier League draws since Rodri’s injury against Arsenal. A loss on Saturday would have resulted in their worst league run of 2024.

Kovacic, 30, is not known for being a goalscoring midfielder—it’s never been his primary role during his time at Dinamo Zagreb, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea, or Manchester City. However, his quality as a midfielder is undeniable, given the impressive list of clubs he has played for.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day, “He is not a top goalscorer, but maybe he saw how many goals Rodri has scored in that position and did copy and paste. He scored two fantastic goals.” Kovacic’s first goal came from a deflected shot off a half-cleared corner, while his second was a powerful strike from the edge of the area early in the second half.

Guardiola elaborated further during his post-match press conference, explaining, “They went four to five defenders. When they defended with five, there was one man free on the edge of the box – Kovacic. The two goals were because in that position they can’t defend it. Kovacic was really important. Now opponents know they can’t leave him alone or he can score a goal.”

Kovacic’s double takes his tally to three league goals this season, having also scored against his former club Chelsea. This is already his best campaign since 2014-15 with Inter Milan. Remarkably, it marked only the second time in his career that Kovacic has scored more than once in a single game—the first being a 2014 Europa League qualifying hat-trick for Inter against Icelandic side Stjarnan.

After scoring, Kovacic celebrated by sucking his thumb and later explained to BBC Radio 5 Live, “It means a lot because my wife is pregnant, so it was great to get some goals for the little one.”

Defensive Midfielder Kovacic Gets More Involved in Opposition Half

Kovacic, a natural in the heart of midfield, is now in his second season with Manchester City after moving from Chelsea. Last season, he was a rotational starter, featuring more prominently in European and domestic cup matches. However, this season has seen him start six of City’s seven Premier League games, largely due to Rodri missing time with injuries.

In addition, only five players in the league have made more successful passes than Kovacic’s 453 this season. Interestingly, despite his role as a defensive midfielder, Kovacic does not rank in the top 50 for successful passes in his own half. Instead, he ranks second for successful passes in the opposition half and into the final third, only behind teammate Manuel Akanji in both categories.

'Tidy and Simple' Kovacic Steps Up

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit and former England international Chris Waddle commented, “Rodri is a different player to the rest of them. He does everything, and they did miss him today. Gundogan and Kovacic are different players.” Fellow former England international Steph Houghton added, “Mateo Kovacic’s game is based on being tidy and simple. Kovacic is a perfect replacement for Rodri with his experience at previous clubs and Croatia. He played really well today.”

Kovacic himself acknowledged the importance of adapting to Rodri’s absence, stating, “I am playing there in the middle at the moment, and of course, we need to cover for Rodri. We miss him a lot. For now, we have to adapt, and for sure the manager has a lot of options, so we can rotate.”

Manchester City's Defensive Struggles: Adama Traore's Impact

While the victory was a welcome return to winning ways, Manchester City did show some vulnerability at the back, allowing several chances for Fulham. Adama Traore, in particular, had three major opportunities to score but was thwarted by Ederson on two one-on-ones and missed another shot from inside the box.

Guardiola chose not to criticize his defense, instead opting to praise Traore’s effort: “My feeling is the game was well played, but what chances they had, especially with Adama—he is unstoppable, that guy. It’s impossible to control him—we were a little bit uh-uh.”

Even Fulham boss Marco Silva acknowledged Traore’s performance, admitting that if Traore could consistently take all his chances, he would not still be playing for Fulham.

City’s expected goals conceded (xG) on Saturday was 2.4, higher than their own xG of 1.55. Only twice during the Premier League last season did City have a higher xG against—a 4-4 draw with Chelsea and a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, both away fixtures. Their recent xG of 1.57 against Newcastle would have been the seventh highest last season, indicating that the defensive structure needs some fine-tuning during this Rodri-less period.

Overall, Manchester City showcased their resilience in overcoming Fulham 3-2, thanks to Mateo Kovacic’s vital goals. However, the defensive performance left some questions, and adjustments will be necessary as the team continues to cope with Rodri’s absence.