James McAtee once again misses the opportunity to impress against Plymouth Argyle | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola made 11 changes to the starting lineup from Manchester City’s 1-nil win over Tottenham yesterday. Guardiola allowed City’s fringe players to impress during their 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win over Plymouth Argyle yesterday. Players such as Nico O’Reilly, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Vitor Reis seized their opportunity yesterday. Others did not. One of those who failed to impress was James McAtee. Watching him play yesterday you do feel that he may be running out of opportunities to impress at Manchester City.

For whatever reason yesterday James McAtee just couldn’t get into yesterday’s match. Plymouth Argyle did pack their defence in a bid to frustrate Pep Guardiola’s side. That meant there was little space provided by the Argyle defence when City attacked. Breaking into tight spaces is one of the strengths of James McAtee’s game. But yesterday he couldn’t quite break into those pockets. He spent the game on the periphery of proceedings until he was replaced by Erling Haaland in the 58th minute of yesterday’s match. Overall, it was a frustrating outing for James McAtee.

It was a similar story for McAtee when he started Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in their fourth-round FA Cup tie. He had his moments on that day but they were fleeting. Yesterday McAtee barely had a moment of note during the game at the Etihad. He did win the free kick for Nico O’Reilly’s equaliser yesterday. But outside of that he failed to impress.

There is little doubt that James McAtee has the talent to make it at the top level of football. We have seen enough glimpses to suggest that. But whether or not he can make it as a Manchester City player remains to be seen. That question remains unanswered for now after his quiet display against Plymouth Argyle. We may not know that answer until the end of the season. But the next opportunity that arrives for James McAtee to start he must seize upon it. Otherwise he may not have a place in Manchester City’s rebuild despite his obvious talent.