Man City's generational talent might be ready to make his breakthrough

When Pep Guardiola said Jeremy Doku was the best player in the world "in the first five metres" last season, he meant it to sound a lot better than many people interpreted it.

To some of Doku's critics, it was basically Guardiola saying the Belgian winger was quick off the mark. Given his usual starting skill is to knock the ball past an opponent and run, he is usually only touching the ball once in those five metres. It's when the next touches come that can cause an issue.

That has always been the question with Doku. He passes the eye test. Just watch him torment wingers every now and again, and you can see why there is excitement around his talent. But the end product has to improve.

He registered six goals and nine assists in 38 appearances last season, and there have been 33 goal involvements in 82 appearances for the Blues since signing from Rennes for £55million. When playing on the wing for Manchester City, those numbers clearly need to be higher.

But maybe things are clicking. He was electric for Belgium in June's World Cup qualifiers and has carried that form into the Club World Cup. He scored a volley from a Phil Foden corner against Wydad AC, sat out the win against Al Ain, and then looked pin-sharp against Juventus.

Even before his early goal, he had already combined nicely with Rayan Ait-Nouri. An exchange of passes ended with Ait-Nouri crossing for Bernardo Silva, who should have scored rather than shooting straight at Michele Di Gregorio.

Ait-Nouri spent Sunday night playing high and wide, offering width on the left, but with Doku in the team against Juventus, he was also happy to play a little narrower. That was where he found himself early on. Doku initially stepped towards Ait-Nouri but quickly sprinted