Riyad Mahrez has sent a clear Man City big-game message that Pep Guardiola can no longer ignore

Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world but there are plenty of times when his Manchester City team selections raise a few eyebrows.

Past questionable omissions have included the likes of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and, in the case of the Champions League final, any kind of out-and-out holding midfielder.

However, one player whose absence from the starting XI rarely bats an eyelid among City supporters is Riyad Mahrez. That was the case on Saturday, when before his 68th minute introduction in place of Raheem Sterling, Foden and Bernardo Silva's took turns playing in the Algerian's usual right-wing berth. But why was that?

Mahrez scored an emphatic 92nd-minute penalty that would have rescued City a valuable point, were it not for some shambolic defending in the dying moments.

The successful spot-kick was Mahrez's 18th goal of the season in all competitions, putting him way out front in City's scoring charts. Eight of those 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.

The bottom line is that Mahrez is City's biggest goal threat, yet he is still being overlooked in some of the biggest games. Against Spurs, City struggled to find ways through a compact and well organised back five, something Mahrez might have been able to change.

The reality is he came on and scored, even if it was from the penalty spot rather than open play.

Guardiola has proved himself a master of rotation but, at the business end of the season, it seems baffling not to start games such