DudNew Delhi: Abdukodir Khusanov may not have got a dream start to his career in the Premier League playing for Manchester City. Making his debut against Chelsea in the starting XI, Khusanov gave Chelsea an early lead when the centre-back tried to head back a ball to keeper Ederson. He failed to connect to the ball well enough which Jackson immediately pounced upon and passed to Noni Madueke who shot into an open net.
His troubles only got worse as Khusanov was soon booked when he slid to catch Cole Palmer. He was shown the yellow card making him the earn the quickest booking for a player making his debut since Lee Peltier while debuting for Cardiff City against Bournemouth had earned a three-minute booking back in August 2018.
Abdukodir Khusanov’s first half by numbers:
35/42 passes completed
8x possession lost
1/4 duels won
1 clearance
1 error leading to goal
1 yellow cardA debut to forget so far. pic.twitter.com/5t0IEcYtK8
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) January 25, 2025
In the winter transfer window, the 20-year-old was brought from Ligue 1 side Lens £33.5 million along with Omar Marmoush who was brought from Eintracht Frankfurt to replace Julian Alvarez who in the same period had made his move to Atletico Madrid. With his debut in Pep Guardiola’s defence, he has become the first international Uzbekistan player to play in the Premier League.
Both Manchester City and Chelsea have struggled with consistency across the competition and it is pertinent for both sides to take the much-needed three points to keep themselves alive for the final four spots. Man City earlier in the week had a dismal outing in the UEFA Champions League after a collapse against Paris Saint-Germain saw them lose 4-2 and currently sit 25th in the competition, at the top of the elimination zone.
City started their weekend at fifth place in the Premier League table after managing to win 6-0 against Ipswich Town last week.
After earning a starting XI debut in Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City squad against Chelsea, Abdukodir Khusanov’s first few minutes in Premier League includes yellow card and a fumble that costed his side a goal. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
