Micah Richards has said that the departures of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez have been a big problem for Manchester City this season.
During the previous summer transfer window, the two players made moves out of the Manchester club, with Gundogan joining Barcelona as a free agent and Mahrez making a move to Saudi Arabian club, Al-Ahli in a deal worth £30m.
With Pep Guardiola’s side having failed to pick up a win across their four previous Premier League games, one pundit and former City player has highlighted the absence of Mahrez and Gundogan and how that has impacted the team.
Richards says City are missing Mahrez and Gundogan
Speaking in a recent edition of The Rest Is Football, Richards had this to say when asked if complacency has set in at City.
He said: “It doesn’t help getting rid of a Mahrez or a Gundogan. Them players were so vital last season if we’re being totally honest, but I don’t think it’s complacency, I don’t. I just think it’s come down to individual errors at the wrong times.”
Looking back over the previous Premier League campaign, Gundogan and Mahrez racked up a combined total of 13 goals and 15 assists between them, which shows how much of an attacking impact they had in the team.
Since leaving City, Gundogan has scored one goal and delivered five assists in 20 appearances for Barcelona across La Liga and the Champions League, whereas Mahrez has found the net seven times and made seven assists in just 16 appearances for Al-Ahli.
This highlights how useful they have both been for their new sides in terms of providing goal contributions, just as they did for City.
Given the underwhelming run of form the Citizens currently find themselves in, it’s easy to wonder what sort of position they’d be in if they had kept the departed duo.
However, with the pair now gone, Guardiola will have to figure out a way to get his side back on track with the players he currently has in his squad, or else they could be in danger of losing the titles they picked up last season.
