Nico O'Reilly

O'Reilly's background as an attacking midfielder shapes almost everything about how he plays left back, since he treats the position as licence to drift infield rather than stay wide. His underlapping runs take him through the inside channel into the box itself, arriving on the end of moves the way a striker usually does rather than a defender. Under pressure in tight areas he stays composed, rarely rushing a pass simply because an opponent has closed him down.

The question is whether a full back this committed to attacking still covers his zone when possession turns over quickly. Guardiola trusts him with the role because his positional sense compensates for the space he leaves behind, but that trust gets tested every time City lose the ball in transition. Watch how often his side gets exploited on the counter, the price of a full back who plays like a forward.