Not many wingers in Manchester City’s recent history have enjoyed Premier League debuts quite as impressive as Savinho’s.
So much so that Demba Ba compared Savinho to Riyad Mahrez during his latest outing for City in their 2-0 victory against Chelsea.
The Manchester City new-boy looked like he had been playing for Pep Guardiola’s side for years — a claim that would perhaps not be made about Mahrez, Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish during their Premier League debuts.
Unfortunately for the Brazilian, an injury meant Guardiola took him off and brought on Phil Foden at half-time.
However, the 20-year-old lit up proceedings at Stamford Bridge — giving Marc Cucurella one of his toughest outings in a Chelsea shirt in recent memory.
After Savinho was moved to the right flank by Pep Guardiola, his game automatically elevated a notch above as he danced past Cucurella on multiple occassions.
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Guardiola hails Savinho after Man City beat Chelsea
The Spanish international was not the youngster’s only victim on the day as he also beat the likes of Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer with relative ease.
Perhaps two of the biggest takeaways from Savinho’s exciting showing was that his dribbling and carrying of the ball seem top-quality.
Furthermore, the former Troyes winger seemed unfazed to be playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and that too, in the most-watched league in the world now.
The highly-rated wideman’s statistics made for good reading from a City perspective — as he completed three out of his three dribbles, made three keys and also completed 13 out of 15 attempted pass, as per Sofascore.
Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Savinho after he played a key role for Manchester City in their winning start to the 2024/2025 season against Chelsea.
As quoted by journalist Michael Plant, the £378,846-a-week man said: “His first impact has been really good. It sends a message that you have good personality to be a top player.”
Guardiola makes intriguing observation about Savinho
It is interesting that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola pinpointed how the fact that Savinho had the confidence to take the game by the scruff of the neck against Chelsea is a sign that he could turn into a top player one day.
Ultimately, the best players in the world always have their sights set on having a major impact on proceedings in the biggest of games.
Savinho seems to have their attitude where he is not content with merely participating in such games but also having his say.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland all seem to have such a mentality, which has perhaps played a key role in their development as world-class players.
Young players tend to play with a sense of freedom and Savinho came across as a player who has been enjoying his football since his loan spell to Girona last season.
