Over the past few days, several Manchester City players have secured a place in the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championship.
With the knockout stage of the tournament now over, City have 10 players from their squad set to potentially appear in the upcoming quarter-final matches.
During one of the recent knockout games, one particular City player found himself on the receiving end of some hefty praise for one specific thing he did on the pitch for his country.
Danny Murphy hails Nathan Ake for ‘brilliant’ defensive work in Netherlands vs Romania
Speaking on BBC One’s commentary during the Netherlands’ 3-0 win over Romania, Danny Murphy had this to say about one particular piece of impressive defensive work he saw from Nathan Ake.
He said: “I tell you what, watch Ake track his man.
“You want to watch someone defend properly, the winger has come all the way in, look who’s there, followed him, doing his job.
“Brilliant defending from Ake. Great run as well.”
As a cross came into the Dutch penalty box from the left wing, the City defender ran into the middle of the area from his left-back position to close down a Romania player and scupper their attempt at goal.
City fans shouldn’t be surprised by Ake’s defensive talent
The 29-year-old, who City paid £41m to sign back in 2020, is one of the seven Dutch players to start all four of the Netherlands’ games in the tournament.
Across his 69 minutes of action against Romania, Ake had 48 touches of the ball and was able to accurately complete 30 of the 33 passes he attempted.
In terms of his defensive efforts throughout the game, the City star made two tackles, two interceptions, two clearances, won both of the ground duels he was involved in and blocked one shot.
This display ultimately earned Ake an overall match rating of 7.4/10 from SofaScore, leaving only three other Netherlands players from the starting XI with higher ratings.
These comments from Murphy aren’t the first instance where Ake has been praised for his defensive capabilities, as Stefan Ortega said back in March that the Dutchman is City’s best aerial defender.
In fact, looking back over the previous Premier League season, the defender racked up the third-highest total of aerial duels won (46) in the City squad.
Now that Murphy has praised Ake for his defensive work in his latest game for the Netherlands, this shouldn’t surprise many City fans that the Dutchman has been so vital for his country at the back.
