Pep Guardiola sent 'undervalued' message amid Riyad Mahrez Man City debate

The absence of Riyad Mahrez from a Manchester City starting 11 very rarely throws up much debate, but that is seemingly starting to change.

Despite leading the way in City's goal charts, Mahrez perhaps finds himself overlooked when it comes to being one of the first names on the teamsheet.

In fact, he is arguably so overlooked that in the 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva all featured for spells in the right-wing position before Mahrez's 68th-minute introduction.

That cameo appearance almost proved to be fruitful for City as a successful stoppage-time spot-kick provided Mahrez an 18th goal in all competitions this season.

And it would have been enough to gain City an important point, had it not been for lacklustre defending to allow Harry Kane to score a late winner.

Eight of those 18 Mahrez strikes this season have come in the Premier League — despite the fact that he has started only 10 of City's 26 top-flight matches.

The winger has scored six times in seven Champions League games, a return that has contributed to him already achieving his best scoring year for the Blues with a third of the campaign still to play.

He is one of the most attacking threats available to Pep Guardiola yet he is often left to make an impact from the substitutes' bench rather than provide City with the strongest possible start.

It is no surprise to see, therefore, that Mahrez is sending Guardiola a clear big-game message that he can no longer ignore.

Choosing to leave Mahrez out is now forcing discussion among City fans as to whether he is being treated harshly by Guardiola.

Here is what some Manchester Evening News readers have had to say in response to an article about his role and