Manchester City's players were all no-doubt disappointed with how things turned out at Anfield last weekend, but none more so than Joao Cancelo. When the Portuguese defender saw Alisson's launched drop-kick sail through the sky towards him, he approached the situation how he always does: on the front foot, committed and eager to win the ball back as quickly as possible.
The only issue was that in this particular situation he was the last man in a one-on-one battle with Mohamed Salah, one of the deadliest attackers on the planet. A slight miscalculation on Cancelo's part allowed Salah to role him and race towards goal unopposed.
That was just one moment of poor judgement, and on the whole Cancelo did not have a terrible game. It was certainly not one of the error-strewn performances that he tends to drop once a season.
READ MORE: Joao Cancelo bounce back will show his Man City transformation is complete
However, what was clear was that the 28-year-old did not look entirely comfortable playing out on the right wing, as has been the case when he has deputised for Kyle Walker at right-back in recent months. His performance served as further evidence that Cancelo should no longer be considered a right-back filling in on the left, but as a left-back by trade.
It was during the 2020/21 campaign that Pep Guardiola began regularly deploying Cancelo at left-back, but it was last season that he truly made the position his own. There has been the odd game where his right-footedness has made the left-hand side of City's attack a little narrow, but his technical ability has allowed him to thrive both as an 'inverted' full-back and when pushed further as an auxiliary number eight.
Cancelo is a player who clearly does have a mistake or a lapse in concentration in him - though his tendency to either is overplayed by some - but it's noticeable that those moments tend to occur when he's playing on the right, not the left.
During his time at City Guardiola has worked wonders by filling his side's ever-present need at left-back with players used to playing in different positions. Fabian Delph came to the rescue when crisis struck in 2018 and was superb, before Oleksandr Zinchenko started to get regular minutes at left-back despite his schooling as an attacker.
Cancelo was the third player Guardiola shifted out of position to plug the gap and has done so more successfully than anyone could have expected. The fact that he is right-footed but also has a good left foot adds a level of unpredictability to his game that makes it incredibly difficult for defenders to stop him, as they don't know if he's going to cut inside onto his right foot or run to the byline and cross with this left. When playing on the right of defence his game isn't so multifaceted, his desire to keep the ball on his right foot more obvious.
For years City fans have begged the club to sign a new starting left-back, something City tried and failed to do with their pursuit of Marc Cucurella over the summer. The time has come to recognise that if City do need to sign a new full-back anytime soon, then the priority should be on the right side of defence, not the left. Cancelo has the left locked down and that doesn't look like changing any time soon.
READ NEXT:
