Riyad Mahrez, England suits him so well

Riyad Mahrez, goalscorer for Manchester City against Leipzig, February 22, 2023. AFP - ODD ANDERSEN

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

2 min

Manchester City and Riyad Mahrez retained their title of champion of England even before their match against Chelsea, Sunday, May 21, taking advantage of the defeat of their rival Arsenal against Nottingham Forest (1-0) Saturday on the 37th and penultimate day of the Premier League.

Advertising

Read more

Manchester City won the league title for the third time in a row. The Algerian international who won his first crown in 2016 with Leicester, has had four more with the Citizens (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023).

Now, the native of Sarcelles, in France, 32 years old, is the most successful African player in the history of the competition, ahead of the Ivorians Didier Drogba (4) and Yaya Touré (3). The Algerian international (81 caps, 29 goals) who is under contract with Manchester City until June 2025, is the author of 5 goals and 10 assists in 28 league games this season.

A second final in C1

Riyad Mahrez also left his mark on the English Premier League by becoming the best African passer in the history of the competition. The Fennecs captain, a specialist in set pieces, remains a key element of the title, even if the C1 finalist in 2021 has not had as important a role as in the past in the English championship.

But in April, Riyad Mahrez sent Manchester City to the final of the FA Cup with a hat-trick (3-0) against Sheffield United, a D2 club.

Despite his status as a substitute, Mahrez has also contributed to Manchester City's superb run this season in C1. The Fennecs winger made 9 appearances and scored 3 goals and 2 assists. Mahrez played only ten minutes in City's big win over the great Real Madrid in the semi-final return (4-0). He and Cameroon's Andre Onana of Inter Milan are the two African players qualified for the Champions League final to be held on June 10 in Istanbul. Mahrez could become the second Algerian player in history to win a European title after Rabah Madjer.

It was at the age of 22, in 2014, that Riyad Mahrez left to play in England and signed for Leicester City for 3 years. At the time, the club was leader of the Championship (second level). Since then, the Algerian has confirmed that the English choice was the right one.

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Read on on the same topics:

  • Football
  • Algeria
  • United Kingdom