Manchester City: Riyad Mahrez receives deserved praise and fans couldn’t be happier

Since becoming Manchester City’s record signing, Riyad Mahrez has had to battle for opportunities, but his price tag could now be justified.

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The Algerian winger was the subject of much debate when he signed for the English champions in the summer of 2018, with journalists such as James Ducker saying it was a luxury purchase, but he has started to be more involved of late.

At the start of City’s title defence last season, Mahrez couldn’t get much of a look in bar coming off the bench (making 14 Premier League starts and 13 appearances from the bench per WhoScored), but as the season went on, his influence kept growing.

Eventually, the 28-year-old made his presence tell, with a brilliant performance away to Cardiff, a winner at the Vitality Stadium and a screamer away to Brighton on the last day to all but seal the Blues’ title hopes.

Now, Mahrez had moved up yet another gear, becoming a mainstay on the right-hand side (making five starts already) – even managing to keep Bernardo Silva out of the team on occasion.

It appears the former Leicester man’s patience has paid off, and now fans everywhere are out in full force to commend a sensational run of form after his international manager Djamel Belmadi praised him.