Riyad Mahrez Pep Guardiola Man CityGetty

The Mahrez of Leicester is back! Man City winger becoming key figure for Guardiola

Manchester City are finally getting the Riyad Mahrez they signed from Leicester City.

The brilliant, instinctive matchwinner who can transform a game with a drop of a shoulder and a curling shot into the top corner.

The 2016 Player of the Year, who arguably did more than anyone to make Leicester's miraculous Premier League title triumph happen.

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Pep Guardiola wanted Mahrez so badly that even after City pulled out of a deal to sign him in January 2018, he persuaded them to make the Algerian the club's record signing later that year, at £60 million ($75m).

And after a mixed debut season, the winger looks back to his Leicester best.

"Riyad loves to play football and he loves the training sessions and he loves to be in contact with the ball. I like these type of players," Guardiola gushed ahead of Saturday's clash with Watford.

"He goes to the training pitch and he takes the ball and he plays with the ball and has fun with the ball.

"That is maybe a stupid detail but I like it."

Mahrez's first season was hardly a disaster, of course.

He finished with a clean sweep of domestic medals and had some pivotal moments – the only goal at Tottenham, a scrambled winner at Bournemouth, an outrageous dummy and finish on the final day at Brighton.

But there was an overwhelming feeling that the winger was not at his best. Mahrez felt it too. He cut a frustrated figure around the Etihad Campus.

He was unhappy about a lack of minutes, after just 14 Premier League starts. Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling were Pep's go-to guys.

Competition at City is fierce and it can take time to adapt to Guardiola's footballing philosophy. But there was never any doubting Mahrez's talent.

"Perhaps the only thing he has to improve is to be more relaxed when he doesn't play," Guardiola argued. "Only that. The rest is top."

Riyad Mahrez Leicester City Premier League trophy PS

The 28-year-old wasn't the first player to take time to adjust either. Sergio Aguero and Bernardo both initially struggled with the manager's demands.

At Leicester, Mahrez had been the key figure in Claudio Ranieri's extraordinary title-winning side.

The Foxes were defensively solid and played on the counterattack, with Mahrez tasked with exploiting the space created when Leicester quickly switched the play.

City are a completely different beast, a team with an entirely different style of play, one based on dominating possession and playing in tight spaces.

Mahrez, unsurprisingly, didn't slot right in. His confidence suffered, as underlined by his late penalty miss in a massive Premier League meeting with title rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

Guardiola, though, was pleased with Mahrez's debut season overall, though.

"When he played last season, he played good, except the first few games maybe, but it's normal," the City boss said.

"You arrive with new players and try to understand what they want.

"They played many, many years together [at Leicester], where they sit back, use the counterattack and here it's a little bit different.

"There is no doubt we need the quality and especially the mentality. Especially how competitive he is surprised me a lot."

Riyad Mahrez Pep Guardiola Man City PS

Indeed, after his Africa Cup of Nations involvement, Mahrez returned to Manchester with a renewed focus to succeed.

He cut short his summer holidays but was forced to miss the Community Shield because of uncertainty over medication he received after an operation to help his breathing.

Against West Ham on the opening day of the season, he was involved in all five goals, making two assists and being brought down for Aguero's late penalty.

Just as importantly, he worked hard defensively, tracking back and dovetailing neatly with full-back Kyle Walker.

He's continued in the same vein since then. Against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night, he was alert to knock in a rebound for the opener before his exquisite touch and pass set up Ilkay Gundogan for the second.

On the rare occasions the Ukrainians attacked, Mahrez helped out at the back.

Guardiola, though, sees Mahrez as a key player in City's bid to end their wait for Champions League success, a difference maker in tight games.

"In terms of making bad actions, he wants the ball, he wants to try again," Guardiola explained. "That's the best detail for the players in the big clubs in the big stages and it's the most difficult thing to find.

"And he is quality."

Mahrez has made a habit of proving people wrong ever since he left French seventh-tier side Quimper as a 19-year-old.

Now at City, he is starting to prove his doubters wrong again.

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