How Jeremy Doku, the anti-Pep winger, transformed to tear Liverpool to pieces

Jeremy Doku seemed far too anti-Pep for Pep Guardiola . The Catalan does not do traditional wingers. If Jack Grealish’s maverick qualities were stifled, how would another wide forward who relishes beating a man work in Manchester City ’s system?

Last season, watching Doku was like Groundhog Day for City supporters. Beating his man and getting to the byline was no problem. What followed was. It appeared Guardiola and the near-imperious City transfer hierarchy had got one wrong.

This term, Doku is transformed. But not by accident. Traditional wingers are part of the Pep blueprint now as he, on his 1000th game, showed adaptation and evolution burn as strongly as ever within him. Just as getting one over their newest of foes Liverpool does.

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Doku personifies Manchester City 8.0 of Guardiola’s reign. Whereas in the past wide forwards revelled in being part of the slickest of passing machines, carving teams apart with guile and pausa in the pass, the Belgian livewire has been given freedom to express himself, do what he does best – beating his man – as long as the final piece is there. Eight goal contributions suggests now it is.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is all part of the plan. The common misconception is that Guardiola is wedded to tiki-taka, but the reality is no coach in world football has adapted his approach more often. Liverpool were put to the sword at the Etihad in a completely different manner than they have ever been used to.

While there were still elements of the old way of thinking there – Erling Haaland ’s opener touched every player in blue at least once before his superbly-placed header found the net - City are a different beast altogether these day.

Nowadays, they rely almost solely on goals from their out-and-out striker – what even is a false nine anymore – have a goalkeeper in Gianluigi Donnarumma between the sticks who is only there due to his shot-stopping ability, and possess throwback wingers not seen on our shores for a long, long time.

“I feel like I just have confidence,” Doku said. “I'm just happy that now I can just deliver the way I want to play without any fear or doubt or anything.

"If I get freedom I'm not going to say no! Of course I prefer that. Getting inside, getting outside, go where the ball is. It makes it unpredictable for the opponents so I like it.

“I’m 23 years old, I hope this is not my peak level. I hope I can still improve, I improve my finishing, improve my movements in the box, improve my decision making, improve on my awareness when I have the ball. A lot. This is an unfinished product and I hope with these teammates and a very good coach like Pep, I can still improve of course.”

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He is not wrong. There are Raheem Sterling parallels with Doku. Perhaps in another environment, under another coach, Doku would not have had the time and, more pertinently, guidance to thrive like he is now.

Sterling is still revered around these parts, but the fact his career has tailed off so disappointingly since leaving suggests he owed a great deal to working in this perfect environment.

Coaching an end product out of a £50m footballer is no easy feat. But Guardiola is no ordinary coach.

"No, it was not the best goal,” Doku adamantly refuted when discussing his game-clinching stunner.

“I have goals when I dribble that I like. I liked mine against Napoli, I liked Fulham, I liked Luton. This is an important goal today… there are different types, but I'm not going to complain.”

Probably for the best. Not when your career trajectory seems to be going in the direction it is, at a timely moment for a resurgent side on the rise, having taken a different route back to the top.