Xaver Schlager has gone about his business at Nottingham Forest with little fanfare — but Saturday's 3-1 demolition of Manchester City delivered the defining moment his season had been missing. The Austrian midfielder dispossessed Elliot Anderson deep inside City's half to send Liam Delap clear for the opening goal, setting the tone for a commanding victory.

The free transfer from RB Leipzig has slotted into the role previously occupied by Anderson — the £116m midfielder Forest sold — and while Schlager brings an entirely different profile, his qualities proved decisive at the weekend.

Glasner's glowing verdict

Manager Oliver Glasner was effusive in his post-match assessment. "It must have been a fantastic performance," he said of Schlager's display, noting that City's midfielders are world-class. "He is so smart, anticipating and getting balls, one of the most for interceptions in the league. And he was physically so strong in his 50-50 balls. He always stayed on his feet and won these balls, because he can then play forward."

The numbers back Glasner up. Despite coming on as a late substitute in Forest's opening defeat against Leeds, Schlager has completed more tackles than any other player in the Premier League this season — a fitting reflection of his combative, no-nonsense style.

The unsung midfielder

Not everyone at the City Ground has been won over. Some supporters remain sceptical, particularly after a slow start to the campaign, and the 29-year-old is not viewed as a long-term project. Yet his pedigree is considerable. He came through Red Bull Salzburg's feeder club Liefering, where former coach Oscar Garcia handed him his senior debut, before reuniting with Glasner at Wolfsburg and then moving on to Leipzig.

"He had very good potential," Garcia told Sky Sports. "Some players in midfield left and we wanted to give him the chance to play. In the structure of Red Bull there were other players ahead of him but we saw that he was a player who could do almost everything."

The dirty work nobody notices

Schlager himself is refreshingly candid about where he fits in. Speaking over the summer, he admitted that "you will not see me too much" and that he does "the dirty things you do not recognise but someone has to do it." Against City, that was precisely what he delivered — and then some.

He was the only outfield player on the pitch, from either side, to win possession more times than he lost it. He covered 11.92 kilometres, more than any other player on the field. His pass completion rate sits at 84.5 percent against an expected rate of just 77.6 percent, placing him in the top 20 for overperformance on that metric — evidence that he is doing far more with the ball than casual observation might suggest.

Making teammates better

The ripple effect on those around him is tangible. James McAtee, who has partnered Schlager in central midfield for much of the season, is producing the best football of his Premier League career. Ryan Yates impressed on his return to the starting line-up on Saturday. Schlager, the facilitator, is at the heart of it.

"In midfield, he can have the ball, he can make the last pass, he can play with the left, he can play with the right, and he can recover the ball very well when the team is gegenpressing," Garcia added. Schlager himself put it simply when he was introduced to supporters: "The most important thing is I want to make my teammates around me better." Against Manchester City, he did exactly that.