Manchester City have clearly found a player in Nico O’Reilly now he needs more opportunities to develop | OneFootball

Manchester City beat Plymouth Argyle 3-1 yesterday at the Etihad Stadium to book their place in the quarter-finals of this season’s FA Cup. A brace from Nico O’Reilly and a late goal to Kevin De Bruyne was enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to overturn a 1-nil deficit. A 38th-minute header from Maksym Talovierov gave Plymouth Argyle a shock lead at the Etihad.

There were plenty of positives for Pep Guardiola and his team to take from yesterday’s match. One of those was the performance of Nico O’Reilly. He showed yesterday that he belongs in Manchester City’s first team and that he needs more opportunities to develop further.

O’Reilly started at left-back yesterday for Manchester City. He stepped into the Josko Gvardiol role for Pep Guardiola’s side. In possession, he was comfortable, and he didn’t have a great deal to do defensively. Plymouth Argyle only had one attack of note as City dominated yesterday’s match. But when he did have to defend he was comfortable. Nico O’Reilly scored a brace as his size at set pieces was a valuable weapon for Manchester City.

But more than his goals it’s clear to see that O’Reilly has the attributes that City lack in midfield. He is good on the ball, can make attacking runs from midfield and he has the size and athleticism that Pep Guardiola’s side lacks. That does stand out when you see him play. He is a towering midfielder and you do feel that his game could complement that of Rodri and Nico and potentially form a powerful midfield trio for Manchester City. The potential is there for O’Reilly to develop into a key player for Pep Guardiola’s side. He just needs to play more often to do just that.

Pep Guardiola sings the praises of Nico O’Reilly and highlights what he adds to the Manchester City first-team.

Speaking after his team’s win Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the performance of Nico O’Reilly. He added that O’Reilly, with his size and athleticism, adds something different to his team. Speaking on O’Reilly, Guardiola told the media: “He’s not a typical player from the Academy because they are all small and have big talent, but he has a big, big presence. Sometimes we take a good decision otherwise he would not have scored two goals today. Normally he’s an attacking midfielder and runs to the box really well. He adapted really well to the full-back role. Nico’s another threat from set-pieces because we are not a tall team. He helps us and played really good with the ball, without the ball. Two fantastic goals.”

Manchester City have found a player in Nico O’Reilly. He has the technical ability to develop into a key contributor for Pep Guardiola’s side. Furthermore, O’Reilly has the size and athleticism to add something different to Manchester City’s play. Now he just needs more opportunities to develop as a player. The hope is that he can get those towards the end of this season and at the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer to set him up for next season and beyond.