Despite Manchester City’s 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening in the Champions League, Ayyoub Bouaddi made a lasting impression.

Introduced at half-time, the young Morocco international transformed the Manchester City midfield, drawing praise from Sidney Govou and, above all, from Erling Haaland. At just 18, the former Lille midfielder already appears to be knocking on the door of the starting line-up.

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City produced a high-quality spectacle on Wednesday evening. But for 45 minutes, the visitors mostly gave the hosts a football lesson, heading into the dressing room with a three-goal lead (3-0).

Faced with the collapse of his midfield, Enzo Maresca decided to react at half-time with three changes, including the withdrawal of an uninspired Rayan Cherki in favour of Ayyoub Bouaddi. The decision would considerably change the face of his team.

Bouaddi transforms Manchester City midfield

Already noticed during his display against FC Porto (2-0), the young Moroccan confirmed that he is no ordinary player. From the moment he came on, Bouaddi brought the control, energy and technical precision that Manchester City had sorely lacked in the first half.

Able to withstand the Paris Saint-Germain pressing, break lines with his passing and move intelligently forward, the former Lille midfielder quickly took a central role in Manchester City’s play.

His influence was felt notably in the 75th minute, when he delivered a perfectly weighted cut-back to Erling Haaland, allowing the Norwegian to complete his brace and reduce the deficit to 4-2.

His statistics reflect his activity: 93 per cent pass accuracy, 100 per cent of duels won and eight ball recoveries, the joint-highest total of the match alongside Vitinha, but in only 45 minutes!

The performance did not go unnoticed by former France international of Beninese descent Sidney Govou, who was particularly complimentary during Canal+ live coverage - ‘He really did some good, what he is doing is enormous. (...) He is showing a lot of maturity and technical precision, this desire to play forward.’

Senegal international Iliman Ndiaye, also introduced at half-time in place of Jeremy Doku, contributed to the Manchester City revival with his attacking work.

Haaland names Bouaddi ‘Man of the Match’ as midfielder pushes for starting role

Although Manchester City were unable to overturn a particularly inspired Paris Saint-Germain, Bouaddi’s performance is certainly one of the main positives for Enzo Maresca. And his team-mates evidently share that enthusiasm.

Under the young Moroccan’s latest Instagram post, Erling Haaland himself commented: ‘MAN OF THE MATCH’. It was a particularly significant tribute from the Norwegian striker, who himself benefited from an assist from Bouaddi to score his second goal of the evening.

Beyond his technical qualities, it is still the midfielder’s personality that impresses. At only 18, he plays with great maturity, without appearing intimidated by the opposition or by the stakes of big European nights.

Manchester City supporters already seem won over by their new number 32, a shirt once worn by the illustrious Carlos Tevez. It remains to be seen whether his status can change after this high-class display.