Alan Shearer has praised Manuel Akanji for his performance in Manchester City’s recent Premier League victory over Newcastle United.
The Citizens picked up their second league win of the season last weekend over Eddie Howe’s side with a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium thanks to a goal from Julian Alvarez.
After the game and the rest of the fixtures from the second week of Premier League action, Shearer picked out one City player that he felt put in a perfect display against the Magpies.
Shearer heaps praise on Akanji
Having included the defender in his Premier League Team of the Week, Shearer had this to say about Akanji and his efforts on Saturday.
He said: “Didn’t put a foot wrong and looked comfortable moving into a midfield role.”
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As the pundit and former Newcastle star mentioned, the 28-year-old ventured into a midfield role against the Magpies, as he also did in last week’s Super Cup victory over Sevilla.
Across the 90 minutes last weekend, Akanji had 69 touches of the ball in total, accurately completing 57 of the 60 passes he attempted.
This gave him a passing accuracy percentage of 95%, the joint-highest in the City side alongside Ruben Dias.
In addition to that, the Switzerland international didn’t shirk away from his defensive duties as he made three clearances, two interceptions and one tackle as well as blocking one shot and winning the one ground duel he was involved in.
This display ultimately earned Akanji an overall match rating of 7.4/10 from SofaScore, leaving only three other City players with higher ratings.
With all of that in mind, it’s safe to say that Shearer was right to commend the City star for his efforts against Newcastle and highlighted how well he did in midfield.