Algeria international Riyad Mahrez came off the bench to grab his first goal of the season as Manchester City hammered Norwich City 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The 30-year-old came on in the 75th minute replacing Jack Grealish and it took him 10 minutes to find the back of the net for the team’s fifth goal after they had scored four through an own goal in the seventh minute, Grealish in the 22nd minute, Aymeric Laporte in the 64th minute, and Raheem Sterling in the 71st minute.
City manager Pep Guardiola opted to drop Mahrez to the bench having started in the game against Tottenham Hotspur which they lost 1-0 in the opening week.
It was City who started the game on a high note and in the seventh minute, Norwich conceded an own goal after goalkeeper Tim Krul failed to defend a ball from skipper Grant Hansely and it rolled into the net.
In the 22nd minute, new signing Grealish put City 2-0 up after the former Aston Villa player raced to meet a deflected ball from Gabriel Jesus’s effort and he hit it from the back post and into the bottom corner.
City enjoyed a 2-0 half-time lead, and continued to attack Norwich after the break.
In the 64th minute, Laporte made it 3-0 after Ilkay Gundogan's left-footed effort was blocked back into play by Krul, and the defender pounced on the rebound to hit the back of the net.
In the 71st minute, Sterling made it 4-0 after Jesus and Kyle Walker combined well to set up the ex-Liverpool man, who slotted the ball past Krul.
After the goal, Mahrez was introduced for Grealish, and it took the Algeria international 10 minutes to find the net himself.
A cross from Ruben Dias fell to the feet of Mahrez, who took a wonderful touch to kill the ball dead before setting himself and curling in off the base of the far post.
The huge victory enabled City to bounce back to winning ways having lost the opening fixture, and they will now prepare to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
