Manchester City defeated Villarreal 2-0 in the Champions League. Brazilian winger Savinho was the key figure in this victory. "Manchester Evening News" pointed out that Manchester City's decision to renew the contract, which had caused disagreements, is gradually showing its foresight.
Among the series of new contracts sent out by Manchester City in the past two months, the one that attracted the most attention and caused the most discussion was Savinho's contract extension. The Brazilian spent just one season at the Etihad Stadium before extending the remaining four years of his contract to six years and receiving a significant salary increase.
As the transfer turmoil continued, Savinho missed the start of the season due to a mysterious injury, and his social media updates did not always win the favor of fans - although fans who came as amateur detectives may have over-interpreted his casual photos. He successfully won a new contract and a salary increase with Tottenham's willingness to buy, and the new contract and high salary also brought expectations for his performance.
His performance last season has sparked a lot of discussion, and his first start this season has polarized opinions. Despite scoring against Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup, fans were frustrated by his lack of finishing throughout the night before scoring in the 74th minute.
But Guardiola seems to favor him. The 21-year-old has made five starts in the last six games. His game may be reaching new heights. He began to show a more stable performance, not only assisting Haaland to score the second goal against Everton last Saturday, but also performed well against Villarreal in the Champions League.
Savinho's threat was so great that the home team's left back Alfonso Pedraza was yellowed in the 11th minute and was replaced at halftime after witnessing two goals coming from his defensive zone. Savinho first sent a precise pass to Rico Lewis to instigate the first goal, and then delivered a cross for Bernardo Silva's header.
He and Lewis cooperated tacitly all night long, and the offensive wisdom displayed by Manchester City on the right was pleasing to the eye. They were decisive and direct when it was time to increase speed, but they also remained patient, waiting for the best moment to inject offensive speed. Sergi Cardona came on for Pedraza, but his performance was equally difficult. At the beginning of the second half, Savinho made several light breakthroughs, causing the opponent to fall into passivity and self-doubt.
There was a brief period last season when Savinho showed the momentum of continuous contribution-making a pass and shot against Leicester City at the end of 2024, and creating two goals against West Ham United at the beginning of 2025, but his sharpness quickly faded again thereafter.
In Etihad's first season, he finally handed over 3 goals and 13 assists. It wasn't a bad performance, especially from a team that often struggled, but more was expected - and now more of the contributions are starting to show.
Savinho showed his vitality during the trip to the United States this summer. Guardiola firmly believed that he could finally fulfill his potential in the offensive third during this tournament.
"He is a player with amazing potential," Guardiola said, "We cannot forget that he is so young."
"He needs to make his performance in the final third more decisive, just like the goal in the last game. He has to do it more. The last shot is more complicated and difficult than the previous links - facing the goalkeeper alone, he may have missed a lot of opportunities last season."
"When he takes this step - it will happen naturally because he He has extraordinary personal ability - when his determination reaches the level of 'I want to do it, I want to be decisive, I want to score goals and assists', he will become an extraordinary player. "
" He is capable of playing both left and right wings, is extremely fast, and has a good understanding of tactics. That's why he's with us. "
This game can be called one of Savinho's career masterpieces after joining Manchester City, and it also laid the foundation for him to prove the value of Guardiola's trust.
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