Xaver Schlager yana gudanar da aikinsa a Nottingham Forest ba tare da yin hayaniya ba — amma nasarar da suka samu da ci 3-1 kan Manchester City ranar Asabar ta ba shi lokacin da yake bukata a wannan kakar. Dan wasan tsakiyar filin dan ƙasar Austria ya kwace ƙwallon daga hannun Elliot Anderson a cikin rabin filin City don aika Liam Delap ya zura kwamfas ɗin farko, inda ya saita sauti na nasara ta hazo.

Shi ne ya zo kyauta daga RB Leipzig ya kuma karɓi matsayin Anderson — wanda aka sayar da shi da £116m — kuma ko da yake Schlager yana da salon wasa daban gaba ɗaya, iyawarsa ta tabbatar da mahimmancinta a wannan karshen mako.

Yabo mai ƙarfi daga Glasner

Manaja Oliver Glasner ya yabe ɗan wasan nasa sosai a taron manema labarai bayan wasan. Ya ce dole ne ya kasance "wasa na ban al'ajabi," yana mai lura cewa 'yan wasan tsakiya na City 'yan duniya ne. "Yana da hankali sosai, yana tsammani kuma yana samu ƙwallaye, yana cikin 'yan wasan da suka fi yin tsaro a cikin gasa. Kuma yana da ƙarfin jiki sosai a cikin fadan ƙwallon 50-50. Koyaushe ya tsaya a ƙafafunsa ya kuma ci waɗannan ƙwallaye, domin zai iya ci gaba zuwa gaba."

Ƙididdigogi sun goyi bayan Glasner. Ko da yake ya shigo a matsayin maye bayan shan kaye da Leeds, Schlager ya yi fiye da takili fiye da kowane ɗan wasan a Premier League a wannan kakar — alamar halayyar faɗa da ba ta kaunar sulhu.

Dan wasan tsakiya da ake ɓacewa

Ba kowa a City Ground ya yarda ba. Wasu magoya baya sun kasance suna ƙin yarda, musamman bayan fara kakar ta rashin ƙarfi, kuma ɗan wasan mai shekara 29 ba a ganin shi a matsayin aikin nan gaba. Duk da haka, tarihinsa na ƙwarewa ya yi yawa. Ya fitowa daga ƙungiyar ciyar da ta Red Bull Salzburg, Liefering, inda tsohon kocin Oscar Garcia ya ba shi wasansa na farko a babbar ƙungiya, kafin ya sake haɗuwa da Glasner a Wolfsburg kuma ya koma Leipzig.

"Yana da ƙwarin gwiwa sosai," Garcia ya gaya wa Sky Sports. "Wasu 'yan wasan tsakiya sun tafi kuma mun so mu ba shi dama ya taka leda. A tsarin Red Bull akwai sauran 'yan wasan a gabansa amma mun ga cewa shi ɗan wasan ne wanda zai iya yin kusan komai."

Aikin ɓoye da ba a gane shi

Schlager kansa yana yin gaskiya game da inda yake. A lokacin bazara, ya yarda cewa "ba za ku ga ni da yawa ba" kuma yana yin "abubuwan da ba a gane su amma wani dole ya yi su." Da Manchester City, haka dai ya bayar — har ma fiye da haka.

Shi ne kadai ɗan wasan filin daga ɓangarorin biyu da ya samu ƙwallon sau fiye da ya rasa ta. Ya gudu kilomita 11.92, fiye da kowane ɗan wasan a filin. Darajar kammala watsarsa tana tsaye a 84.5 cikin dari, idan aka kwatanta da darajar da ake tsammani ta 77.6 cikin dari kawai, wanda ke sanya shi a cikin manyan 'yan wasan 20 mafi kyau a wannan ma'auni — shaida cewa yana yin aiki mai yawa tare da ƙwallon fiye da yadda kallon yau da kullum zai iya ba da shawara.

Inganta abokan wasansa

Tasirin da yake yi ga waɗanda ke kusa da shi a bayyane yake. James McAtee, wanda ya kasance abokin Schlager a tsakiyar filin a mafi yawan wannan kakar, yana nuna kyakkyawar wasa a tarihinsa na Premier League. Ryan Yates ya yi kyau bayan dawowarsa cikin tawagar farko ranar Asabar. Schlager, mai sauƙaƙa, shine zuciya a tsakiyar duk wannan.

Garcia ya ƙara da cewa: "A tsakiyar filin, yana iya samun ƙwallon, yana iya yin watsarwar ƙarshe, yana iya wasa da hagu, yana iya wasa da dama, kuma yana iya maido da ƙwallon da kyau idan ƙungiyar na yin gegenpressing." Schlager kansa ya taƙaita falsafarsa a sauƙaƙe lokacin da aka gabatar da shi ga magoya baya: "Mafi mahimmancin abu shine ina so in sa abokan wasana kewaye ni su fi kyau." Da Manchester City, haka ya yi daidai.