"I Tried to Shield" Him"—Akanji on
Khusanov's Challenging Start
Manchester City's Manuel Akanji revealed he "tried to protect" new signing Abdukodir Khusanov after the young defender faced a challenging start during his debut in Sunday's 3-1 victory over Chelsea.
Khusanov's misjudged header back to goalkeeper Ederson allowed Chelsea to open the scoring, and he was booked within the first four minutes for a rash tackle on Cole Palmer. Despite the early setbacks, City rallied to secure an important win. The 20-year-old, who joined from French club Lens for £33.6m earlier this week, received crucial support from Akanji, who partnered him in central defense.
"I tried to protect him and keep him out of tricky situations, especially against a team like Chelsea with so many talented individual players," the Swiss international explained after the match. "I encouraged him not to overthink, to focus on his next move—maybe play a safer pass back to Eddy [Ederson]—and win his next duel to rebuild his confidence. That’s really all you can do in such moments."
Akanji acknowledged Khusanov's difficult start but praised his resilience. "It wasn’t an ideal beginning, but he recovered well. Making your debut at home against Chelsea is never easy. We supported him throughout, and I think he showed his potential. He’ll have plenty of opportunities to shine in the future."
Manager Pep Guardiola jokingly remarked that he might need to "learn Russian or Uzbek" to communicate with Khusanov, given the player’s limited English. However, Akanji is confident the language barrier won’t be a long-term issue.
"He says he understands English better than French, so I speak English with him," Akanji said. "His English will improve because communication is vital, especially for center-backs. He already understands a lot, even if he’s not fluent yet, but it will definitely come with time."
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