Bundesliga
Cancelo took just 17 minutes to notch an assist. Check out his first point in a Bayern jersey
Joao Cancelo was given an opportunity by coach Julian Nagelsmann in the first possible match, when he appeared in the starting line-up for the DFB-Pokal match against Mainz. And he showed that he is a great reinforcement in the 17th minute when he assisted Eric Choupo-Moting’s goal.
Joao Cancelo was given an opportunity by coach Julian Nagelsmann in the first possible match, when he appeared in the starting line-up for the DFB-Pokal match against Mainz. And he showed that he is a great reinforcement in the 17th minute when he assisted Eric Choupo-Moting’s goal.
Shocking transfer
The Portuguese full-back shocked the football world when he opted to leave for Bayern Munich just before the end of the winter transfer window. Meanwhile, Cancelo has been an almost indispensable player for the Citizens in the past two seasons, recording a 3+10 record in the previous season, collecting 2 goals and 5 assists during the autumn.
Thanks to his footballing mindset, the Spanish strategist uses him as a midfielder who moves into the middle of the pitch to outnumber the opponents and help create play.
But after the World Cup, the relationship between the two sides began to crumble. Cancelo started only three games out of ten in the starting lineup after the World Cup, including one halftime substitution. In addition, the last three games he sat only on the substitutes’ bench.
And just before the last FA Cup match against Arsenal, according to the Daily Mail, there was supposed to be a big argument between Cancelo and Guardiola. At the pre-match training session, where the Portuguese learned that he would not be in the starting line-up, he was supposed to get angry and a big argument with the Citizens coach was to come.
A new beginning in Munich
Cancelo is a great footballer in his prime, which is probably why coach Nagelsmann wasn’t afraid to put him on the pitch at the first opportunity and right into the starting line-up.
So the versatile Portuguese went straight to his art, sending a fluffy ball in front of goal in the 17th minute of the cup match, which was easily headed into the net by Choupo-Moting with his left foot.
“Joao played a very good game. He was creative and came up with some great passes. He played under one of the best coaches in the world. I just told him to play within himself and not to think too much,” Nagelsmann said after the game.
The new Bayern Munich signing was then replaced in the 71st minute by Alphonso Davies, who 12 minutes later sealed a 4-0 victory with his seventh goal for the Bavarians.
Sources: Daily Mail, Whoscored, DFB Pokal, Twitter