Abdukodir Khusanov, Manchester City’s new signing, had a rough start to his Premier League career on Saturday. In the first four minutes of his debut match at home, the 20-year-old from Uzbekistan conceded a goal to Chelsea and was shown a yellow card. Despite the shaky start, City went on to win the match 3-1.
City manager Pep Guardiola showed understanding towards Khusanov’s tough introduction, acknowledging that it wasn’t easy for the young player. Guardiola explained that Khusanov had only had one training session with the team before being thrown into a high-pressure match against Chelsea’s attackers. Guardiola emphasized that being thrown into such a challenge would serve as a valuable lesson for the player.
Guardiola also mentioned that he had little choice but to start Khusanov. With John Stones recently recovering from injury, Guardiola didn’t want to risk him and preferred to save him for an important midweek Champions League game.
Pep Guardiola also gave a debut to Egypt forward Omar Marmoush, who joined Manchester City this week from Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported 70 million euros. Marmoush impressed in his first appearance, but Khusanov had a costly mistake early on. The young defender underhit a header pass back to City goalkeeper Ederson, which was intercepted by Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson. With Ederson off his line, Jackson quickly passed the ball to Noni Madueke, who slotted it into an empty net to give Chelsea the lead.
The TV cameras captured Abdukodir Khusanov’s shocked expression after his mistake in the third minute of the match. Just a minute later, the young defender earned a yellow card, making it the earliest booking for a player on their Premier League debut since 2018.
Khusanov was substituted in the 54th minute with the score tied at 1-1. As he left the field, the home crowd showed their support with warm applause, and Guardiola embraced him on the sidelines.
Guardiola expressed his appreciation for the team’s unity, saying, “The players were together. That was massively important.” He added that mistakes are part of the game, especially for new players, and emphasized that the fans’ support for Khusanov was crucial. “He’s so young. He will learn,” Guardiola said.
