Stephy Mavididi was rewarded for his boldness as his “best performance of the season” saw him finally open his account for the campaign.
Mavididi, one of City’s leading scorers the last time they were in the Championship, had struggled to hit the target over the opening months but hammered in a left-footed strike to set his side on their way to a 2-1 triumph over Stoke on Saturday.
Beyond the goal, manager Marti Cifuentes felt it was Mavididi’s finest display because of the intent he showed to take on his full-back and drive into the penalty area, building on discussions the pair had shared.
“Definitely, it was his best performance this season, not just the goal,” Cifuentes said. “But it was a fantastic goal and we’re pleased for him.
“I’ve been talking about him about being brave to go one-v-one, because even if it doesn’t work once, twice, three times, the one time it does work it makes a difference.
“I’ve not seen a replay but from the sidelines it looked like a fantastic strike with his left foot.
“I thought he was playing amazing, but we wanted to protect him a little bit for the last minutes because he’s had a period without a lot of 90 minutes. He has been unlucky with a few small muscular issues that didn’t help him to get his best rhythm.
“But hopefully now we’re going to enjoy that from him because he’s a very important player for us and he’s a very good player.”
Mavididi’s previous City goal came in April, when he ended the club’s long drought by scoring away at Brighton.
“It’s been a long time coming,” the winger told the club. “I’m very happy. Winksy played me the ball and I’m pretty sure I saw some runners behind me, but for a split second I didn’t see them anymore, and so I just took it on my own and thank God it went in.
“I feel like I owed it to the fans and we’re delighted we can give them the three points as well.
“In previous games, after the game we’ve been hurt, and we didn’t want that feeling again today. We stuck together, dug in and got the three points.”