How Nico O’Reilly has helped revitalise Manchester City’s title charge

There is a sufficiently long way to go yet in the English Premier League title race for more twists and turns to come, but if Manchester City can hold on to the slenderest of edges, Nico O’Reilly might well go down as the architect of the defining moment that swung it in their favour.

With the score level 64 minutes into their match against Arsenal, he carried the ball through midfield and into the final third, before linking up with Jérémy Doku and finding a way into the box. Upon receiving the return pass, he managed to poke the ball across through the danger area, and it eventually trickled to top scorer Erling Haaland, who did what he does best.

Earlier in the season, I wrote about Manchester City’s extreme over-reliance on Haaland, and how it wasn’t a sustainable approach regardless of the Norwegian striker’s astounding output. And so it has proved; O’Reilly has outscored Haaland in the Premier League over the last three months with four goals to three.

The young left back hasn’t been stat-padding his scoring tally in meaningless game states. His return includes the all-important opener against Chelsea last weekend, as well as a match-winning brace against Newcastle United in February. Of course, he was also the match-winner in the EFL Cup final as he scored a quickfire double in the 2-0 win over Arsenal.

These goals have shone a spotlight on O’Reilly as a clutch performer in the second half of the season, but his contributions to Manchester City’s title charge extend well beyond that. Especially since the winter transfer window — when a couple of major arrivals caused Pep Guardiola to rejig the side — the English international has made the most of his unique skillset to offer a new dimension to his team.

O’Reilly’s developmental journey has been quite unique, as he was an attacking midfielder in his younger days. He shows glimpses of those kinds of qualities in certain situations, but his physical development into a strong and sturdy defender has been a key factor in his success at left back.

This radar captures why O’Reilly has earned so much of Pep Guardiola’s trust from an out-of-possession perspective, but he also has some unique qualities in possession. Scout Lab’s receiving stats showcase this, as the young Englishman has been one of the best full backs in the big five leagues this season when it comes to receiving in dangerous areas.

His inverted role in possession perfectly platforms these qualities, as he moves infield and can look for pockets of space between the lines. His midfielder-like abilities shine both in terms of positioning to receive passes and ball retention thereafter (including in very tight spaces, as seen against Arsenal), and he crucially also has the strength to hold off a good deal of pressure.

O’Reilly’s partnership with Doku has particularly flourished in this regard, as the two have developed a great understanding to link up and move around off each other. The Belgian winger is an exceptional dribbler who is comfortable out wide but likes to drive inside, while the attention he attracts is just what the left back needs to move into dangerous pockets with underlapping runs. As aforementioned, the two combined for the all-important winning goal against Arsenal, just as they have been doing for much of the second half of the season especially.

Given his skillset and role, one aspect where O’Reilly is currently lacking is his passing. He does well enough to poke short passes into tight spaces going infield in the attacking third, but doesn’t do much similar over longer distances from deeper down the pitch. Carrying into space is his main offering in terms of ball progression as he can eat up ground quite quickly, but adding some passing to that would make him an even valuable player. Similarly, his chance creation in the final third relies on those box entries that we just saw above, but a little more from the central areas would make him more of a multidimensional threat.

There are a few full backs playing such inverted roles around the big leagues lately, so what makes O’Reilly genuinely stand out is the fact that he has become a proper threat in the box. The English international has shown a good few glimpses of forward-like movement on the far-side especially to attack crosses and cut-backs, and capped it off with decent finishing with his left foot and head. Again, his ability to stand firm in physical engagements proves handy, as does his understanding of where to be relative to Haaland in particular. In fact, he is fifth in the Manchester City squad for total shots in the Premier League this season, and third in their current first-choice XI!

It’s worth remembering that O’Reilly wasn’t always a guaranteed starter this season either, as Joško Gvardiol had done some similar things last season especially. His injury issues have contributed to O’Reilly getting the minutes to develop these partnerships and traits, but there also was a point after the turn of the year when the Englishman was dropped into midfield for a run of games. Playing on the left side of a trio, his job in possession was pretty similar, but it was out of possession that his presence was critical to insulate the recovering Rodri in physical battles.

It was around this point at the start of February that Guardiola seemed to settle on a formula he was satisfied with both in terms of personnel and set-up, having changed and tweaked a lot throughout the season. Of course, the winter signings have played their part in different areas of the pitch, but O’Reilly’s security and threat on the left has been crucial in providing balance both ways.

Indeed, it is since then that Manchester City’s attack has gone from being Haaland and inshallah to genuinely one of the best out there (even as the Norwegian striker’s output has plummeted). While their defence continues to contend with some issues, this attacking revival has been the driving force behind their rejuvenated title charge.

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