From Man City's rough diamond to being 'unstoppable': How Jeremy Doku became the Premier League's most devastating winger

In statistical terms, no one had put a similar stamp on a Premier League game since Doku's compatriot and short-time Belgium team-mate Eden Hazard back in 2019. Hazard was the last player to win at least seven duels, complete seven dribbles, create three chances and have three shots on target in a single English top-flight game, but that was against a mid-table West Ham, not the reigning champions who had beaten Real Madrid a few days earlier.

While many top players freeze when the world is watching, Doku seemed to revel in the occasion. "In big games, there is always more exposure and more beauty," he told Sky Sports.

The former Anderlecht wideman had been threatening to put in a performance like this after making an imposing start to the season. He was outstanding in the 3-0 win over Manchester United in September, ripped Burnley apart a few weeks later and he had warmed-up for Sunday's game with an important display against Borussia Dortmund.

Doku is now handsomely paying off the £55.5 million ($73m) City paid Rennes to sign him in 2023, and if he keeps this level up he will soon feel like a bargain. There were, however, a few questions over the past two seasons regarding his transfer fee and his suitability to a City team that can often be metronomic, which can lead to the Etihad being a difficult place for individually brilliant players to thrive.

Doku did not take long to make an impression on City fans. He got plenty of bums out of seats during his home debut against Fulham, while he found the net next time out at West Ham. Just two months into his City career, meanwhile, he made Premier League history in a 6-1 drubbing of Bournemouth, becoming the youngest player to produce five goal involvements in one game (four assists and one goal), as well as the first City player to provide four assists in 90 minutes.

However, that incredible display against the Cherries was followed by a barren spell, not helped by six weeks out with a muscle injury. Doku went 10 games without a goal contribution and he was barely trusted in the Champions League, starting just one game. He was seen as a super-sub more than anything, which was summed up by him coming off the bench to spark a goal for Kevin De Bruyne against Real Madrid and then Bernardo Silva's winning strike in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

In his first two seasons at City, Doku averaged three goals and seven assists in the league, not exactly the numbers you would expect from a £55m player at one of the best teams in the division.

Then again, Doku had never been a player whose goals and assists made you sit up and take notice. In his best season with Rennes he only managed six goals and two assists in Ligue 1, something which Guardiola reminded everyone of on Sunday.

"I think he will never be a top scorer, to be honest," the coach said. "But he’s demanding himself to be better, he listens, and has special attributes of dribbling. He was aggressive with and without the ball. We tried to help him and he played an outstanding game."

Guardiola has not always been so effusive about Doku. After a 4-0 thrashing of Brighton in the run-in towards winning the title in 2024, he gave the winger a public dressing down for giving the ball away a couple of times after coming off the bench. Last season, meanwhile, Guardiola criticised Doku's performance against United at Old Trafford, and it was only towards the end of the campaign, after a good display in a win at Everton, that the coach admitted he had been "unfair" on the winger by not playing him more.

Indeed, Doku was at the risk of being phased out of the team as Guardiola preferred to flood the central midfield and look to full-backs Nico O'Reilly and Matheus Nunes to provide width. Now, though, he is one of the first names on the team sheet, playing in 16 of City's 17 games in all competitions this term, starting 11 of them, including all four Champions League fixtures.

Doku would not be the first player who needed an adaptation period under Guardiola. Jack Grealish, Josko Gvardiol and Nico Gonzalez all needed the best part of their first season to get to grips with the coach's style. Doku essentially needed two, but he seems to have mastered the art of what Guardiola wants from him. And unlike Grealish, his stardust remains intact.

The difference is that he has now worked out how to make the most of his skillset, even if Guardiola was keen to stress that only Doku was responsible for his turnaround in form by saying: “I know I'm good, but don't overestimate me. The players do it themselves. We have to give them a good environment and make good connections. I don't teach Doku how to dribble; that is natural talent."

Indeed, watch videos of Doku as a child and he is instantly recognisable from his style of dribbling. Doku honed his unique way of dribbling on a concrete pitch in his home city of Antwerp, spending endless hours there with his brother Jefferson and his friends. He enrolled in the academy of Belgian giants Anderlecht at the age of 10, but a professional education could not curb his tendency to keep his head down and play for himself rather than his team-mates.

Henry worked with Doku as assistant coach to Roberto Martinez in the Belgium national team. and when he was still a Rennes player he raved about his dribbling ability. But last week the Arsenal legend admitted that Doku still had to work on his in-game intelligence.

"He has zero limits but he needs guidance," Henry said on CBS. "When you explain something to someone, if there is no thought process behind it, they're not going to comprehend what needs to happen. We all know that he can finish, but sometimes you need to slow down and re-accelerate to see the big picture."

Doku's performance against Liverpool, in particular his goal, was so good that even managed to bring a smile to the usually morose Roy Keane. "I'd watch it all day," he said on Sky Sports. "Sexy football, fantastic. I love watching goals like that, great bit of skill."

"He’s taken his game to the next level," added former City defender Micah Richards. "How many times have we seen him run down blind alleys or pick the wrong pass? He’s got that conviction now."

Ex-Liverpool and City forward Daniel Sturridge was also blown away by Doku's ability to beat players with what is becoming his signature move. Known as 'the wand', it consists of waving his foot over the ball in one way then racing off in the opposite direction.

"That skill always works for him," raved Sturridge. "He's one of the only ones you see do it. That small bit of power that he has you cannot match it as a defender because he knows what he wants to do. It's about him making the decision and going for the move. When he does that he's unstoppable."

Sturridge also explained what he felt had changed for Doku: "Right now in his mind he has a plan. He's not just playing off the cuff. If you look at his style of play he's one of the hardest players for defenders to go up against. He's so direct. Everyone that he plays against, doesn't matter who it is, he's gonna cause you problems."

Doku, for his part, had two simple explanations for his improved performances. "What changed for me this season is I’ve got God in my life," said the winger, who was baptised after the Manchester derby in September. "I have his presence with me. I want to play without fear or doubt."

Talking more specifically about how his level of football has risen, he added: "I’ve got great players around me, they push me every day because they believe in me, and that also gives me the feeling that I have to do more every game, and every day I want to improve. And having teammates like that makes it easier."

City's other players would also likely conclude that having a team-mate like Doku, in the form he is in right now makes life much, much easier.

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