Joao Cancelo pulled out all the tricks on his Bayern Munich debut.
There was - of course - the outside-of-the-boot cross, and he only needed 17 minutes to whip in a cross to the back post for Eric-Maxim Chupo-Moting to score. Manager Julian Nagelsmann praised him for running from deep and 'sprinting 15 times' into space,' and suggested that Cancelo's Premier League experience was a key factor in his signing.
As debuts go, Cancelo couldn't have done much more, and his positive performance will only add to the feelings of Manchester City fans still in shock that one of their best players has departed so suddenly.
Cancelo lined up on the right of a makeshift Bayern formation that had a back three, with Joshua Kimmich sitting in front, and then two wing-backs who also operated as wingers at times. It was not dissimilar to Cancelo's role in City's recent 1-0 win at Chelsea, where he would be replaced at half-time as the formation simply didn't work.
Interestingly, while Cancelo seemed to be tasked with a more traditional wing-back role of getting up and down the right flank, the player to his inside was former City teammate Leroy Sane.
Operating from a number ten position alongside Jamal Musiala, Sane was playing behind the striker and scored Bayern's third as he ran onto a clever assist from Chupo-Moting. Along with Cancelo, Sane was responsible for probing Mainz through the right channels as Bayern booked their place in the German Cup quarter-finals.
Some City fans got their hopes up when Sane returned to the Etihad as a supporter recently, and posted updates from Manchester on Instagram. When the news of Cancelo's loan emerged, there were some online calls for Sane to be included in any deal. He may have left under a cloud, but there remains plenty of love for Sane in the blue side of Manchester.
Sane made it clear back in 2019, however, that he wanted to move on, and while life at Bayern hasn't been plain sailing in the two-and-a-half years since his move, he seems to be kicking on this season. Cancelo may be a key to unlocking Sane at his best - especially if they can strike up a partnership whether that be with Sane playing centrally, or with Cancelo as full-back behind Sane on either flank.
It's a partnership that City fans may look at with Sky Blue-tinted glasses, as the two have arguably been among the most talented players that Pep Guardiola has assembled at City. While they both played key roles in different title wins and genuinely got fans up from their seats, it seems that Bayern may get the very best out of them after City have done all the work on the training pitch.
Both players, though, seem to be prime examples of Guardiola's black-and-white policy that unhappy players must be allowed to leave - even if it may appear to weaken his squad. Letting two key players of their quality join a Champions League rival could appear self-sabotaging, yet the impact of having unhappy players in the squad may have an even more negative impact.
So Sane and Cancelo have been allowed to leave, and City will have to grin and bear their partnership at Bayern, knowing that ultimately the club comes before any player.
In an alternate reality at City, Sane and Cancelo could have become a formidable duo on the right or left, with Cancelo's tactical awareness and Sane's fearless, direct attacking capable of striking fear into many a full-back. Yet due to Sane's injury issues in his last season at the Etihad - which was Cancelo's first - the pair only shared a pitch for 11 minutes. That was the end of a comfortable 5-0 win over Burnley behind closed doors after the season restarted in June 2020.
Even then, Cancelo was at right-back, with Sane replacing Phil Foden on the left. City never got to see what could have been with two of their most gifted players to have been on the books in recent years.
Bayern now get to reap any rewards of that partnership, but as the saying goes, City should never look back.
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