TA: O Reilly completely restricted Salah and he has already won the trust of Guardiola.

Hupu News on November 10th O'Reilly's left leg was raised high, and Malmouche temporarily played the role of a physical therapist. For a 20-year-old, cramps are to be expected after marking Salah for 83 minutes. However, in this duel, it was Salah who was at a disadvantage.

He slowed down as he reached the baseline to prepare for O'Reilly's collision. He looked very tired of his opponent's persistence. Just when O'Reilly once again forced the 33-year-old veteran into despair, the offside flag saved Salah. This is the first time since July 2020 that Salah has neither scored nor assisted in a Premier League game against Manchester City. In those 9 consecutive games, he faced off against Cancelo, Zinchenko, Nathan Ake and Gwadiol, but no one could contain Salah like O'Reilly.

Salah is getting older, but when he is one-on-one or behind the back, he can still destroy opponents single-handedly. He had this opportunity many times against Manchester City. But O'Reilly stood firm and no amount of feints or quick changes of foot could fool O'Reilly. He moves quickly and keeps his eyes on the ball, always forcing Salah to pass back or poke the ball away. His instant reaction is more agile.

"Salah has been a nightmare for opponents for many years, he is top class, " Guardiola said after the game, "We told O'Reilly that he has to be aggressive, and O'Reilly took it up a notch in this game because you have to prove yourself. An excellent example of how to deal with the best wingers is to do this against Salah "

In recent years, Ake has been deployed at left-back due to his one-on-one ability, but even when he did well, he contributed little on the offensive end. Guardiola was shouting this message from the sidelines against Bournemouth a week ago. And O'Reilly? At the beginning of the game, Doku did not see O'Reilly moving forward at high speed from Salah into the space on the left wing, otherwise he could have formed a single shot. The manager expressed his dissatisfaction, but it was nothing compared to another missed pass to O'Reilly half an hour later. Guardiola was furious and signaled to O'Reilly and Doku in various ways. For a coach with a milestone of 1,000 games, this is the most energetic Guardiola has been all season, and so is his team.

Other players have been outstanding, such as Nico Gonzalez and Doku, but no one embodies City's new look this season better than O'Reilly. He sprints back and forth so frequently, from his own penalty area to the opponent's penalty area, as if he has his own exclusive running track at the Etihad Stadium. O'Reilly was never lazy, and if he hadn't run out of energy, he might well have converted those last two chances into goals instead of kicking the ball high.

His performance has lived up to Guardiola's trust in him, whether he is moving in during the attack or advancing during the counterattack... When Aite Nouri joined this summer, it was difficult to see how much playing time O'Reilly would have, because Gwadiol and Ake can also play as left backs. Until the injury crisis last season, Guardiola reshaped O'Reilly, who had not even played much as a left-back in the youth team, but now this has proved to be a brilliant move. O'Reilly was so solid in this position that he became Guardiola's only choice, and he could only put new summer signing Ait Nouri on the bench. Of course, if Aite Nouri hadn't been injured in September, O'Reilly wouldn't have been on the roster so quickly. At that time, Manchester City's defense still looked fragile, and the hope of winning the championship seemed slim.

O'Reilly did not really enter the first team until February this year. His rapid jump to a regular starter and two consecutive selections for the England team are something that few players can experience. He has started seven of the last eight Premier League games. The only game in which he did not start was Manchester City's 0-1 loss to Aston Villa.

After the game, Guardiola celebrated his milestone, but the warmest welcome awaited O'Reilly as the players walked down the tunnel. O'Reilly was flattered by a group of Manchester City players and staff who greeted him with head pats, ear flicks, and arms around shoulders. It was the only time of the day when he was half a beat too slow to react.