On his Premier League debut for Manchester City, Rejinders produced a trick associated with a more famous Guardiola student. (Reuters)Even before Tijjani Reijnders became a Manchester City player, he was, in his heart, a player made for Pep Guardiola. Light on feet, swift in processing the game’s drift, clever in seeing the space his opponents had not, he spent hours watching Kevin de Bruyne compose the perfect pass during his shift as an attendant in the supermarket. The next day, he would try to channel his inner De Bruyne on the field at the FC Twente youth academy.On his Premier League debut for City, he produced a trick associated with a more famous Guardiola student. Andres Iniesta’s croqueta, an intricate skill that involves nimbly shifting the ball from one foot to the other while side-stepping an opponent, often slitting two defenders at once. The moment came when City were feeling frustrated in the first half despite being on the front-foot. He was merely ambling, some 25 yards away from the Wolves box. Two defenders converged onto him. A third was in his firing line. Three other were covering for Erling Haaland and Rico Lewis. But he nonchalantly performed the croqueta and lobbed the ball for Lewis to gather and feed to Erling Haaland.The moment was but a piece of ingenuity in a full-throttle attacking performance by Guardiola’s men in their season opener. Last edition, City froze briefly after the injury to midfield virtuoso Rodri. They were as much reactive as they were cagey, vulnerable to counterattacks and wilting when opponents pressed aggressively. Rodri returned from his injury, but got injured again and would not be available till September. City are pressed with similar problems as they had in the previous edition, but this time they would not flinch, rather attack and shred teams apart with their dynamism.It also offered another fascinating insight into Guardiola’s management journey. Merely making clones doesn’t entice him. He could have easily signed a like-for-like replacement for De Bruyne. Instead, he keeps tweaking, sometimes tearing apart, his tactics and ideals.Tijjani Reijnders' Premier League debut by numbers:52/57 passes completed6 touches in opp. box4 duels won3 shots2 fouls won1 goal1 assistHe looks a fantastic signing. pic.twitter.com/KCuYErSafs— Squawka (@Squawka) August 16, 2025The whole set-up was tuned to onslaught the hapless Wolves. Reijnders started on the right of the midfield three, even he regularly shuttled in the central channels, doing both play-making and defence-screening duties, sometimes forming a double pivot with Nico González, especially when Bernardo Silva surged upfield. They brought faster legs Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan and offered structural stability in transitions. Together, they not only retained and circulated the ball more efficiently, but also kept the frontline busy. The full-backs Rayan Aït-Nouri and Rico Lewis burned blinding pace, Jeremy Doku was a blur of energy, Erling Haaland looked sharper and struck a stirring chemistry with fellow Norwegian Oscar Bobb.He was a surprise pick, ahead of Brazilian winger Savinho, City’s highest assist-getter last season. But he has the feet of a dancer, as he dribbled, wove and spun past defenders. Just before the opening goal, he went zig-zagging inside the Wolves penalty box, but could not quite feed the killer ball to Haaland. The 22-year-old conceived the second goal.Gifted the ball near the centre circle, he put on the afterburners down the middle, drew the last man, paused, weighed in his options, and calmly rolled the ball to Reijnders, who swung a delicious daisy-cutter to the bottom right. The Dutchman was not finished. He offered a delicious cut-back, after a one-two with Bobb for Haaland to notch the second of his night. Like Guardiola demands from his forward, he was exceptional in roving in the pockets and operating in tight areas near the penalty box.The directness, pace and precision meant that City are meaner to regain the Paradise they had lost. Having slaughtered the opponent, City flogged them by unleashing their bench, stocked with attacking alternatives. He summoned Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki. The latter had just enough time to laser-guide City’s fourth goal of the night, and showed his dancing feet to the thrilled away crowd. In the build-up to the goal, he conjured a glorious back-heel to fox João Gomes, before engaging in a neat interplay with fellow substitute Nico O’Reilly. Phil Foden, player of the 2024 season, and Savinho watched the game from the stands. As did Josko Gvardiol, one of the finest defenders in the world. So much so, Guardiola felt apologetic about the excesses. “I like a deep squad to compete in all competitions but I don’t want to leave players at home. It’s not healthy. You cannot create a good vibe or atmosphere to compete,” he said after the game.Story continues below this adPotentially, but not inevitably, the latest iteration of Guardiola’s City could produce as thrilling football as they did in the 2018-19 title march. Rodri’s return would solidify them more, and his axis with Reijnders could acquire hues of a Xavi-Iniesta midfield orchestra. Encouraging was the physical sharpness of Haaland, who looked weary for much of the last season (still struck 22 goals). Both his goals against Wolves were routine, but his movements were fluid, bullied the defenders and barged past them.Guardiola, of course, shrugged off the comeback narrative arc. “Last season we were back when we won 2-0 at Chelsea [in our first game] and look what happened afterwards. We won [just] today. If you told me we were back in the second half, I’d say no.” A sterner test would be Tottenham Hotspur next week, but Guardiola would be quietly content with City’s swatting aside of Wolves.© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Manchester CityPep Guardiola