Last night opened my eye to some things, I think the winners of the English Premier League awards are not justified. I am not concerned about the attackers or midfielders, seeing Cancelo deliver day in and out at the club and international level has made me rethink about Dias winning the award, Joao Cancelo deserves the honor of the Premier League defender of the 2021/22 season.
Cancelo was instrumental to Manchester City's success in the 2021/22 season, he might not have scored a great number of goals but his ability to push the attack and as well defend is an extraordinary thing for me. He fits well into the category of a utility player, he is great as an individual player and can work as a team player as well.
It baffles me how Reuben Dias beat Joao Cancelo to the Premier League defender award, they are countrymen and get called up for International duties due to their great impact on the team's attack and defense but Cancelo has been the better player in all ramifications if compared to Reuben Dias, being able to play as a right and left back is enough to rate him above Dias, the amazing thing is that he is always productive on both legs.
He played 46 games compared to Dias 36 and he scored a goal with seven assists in the Premier League, he has done more than some Premier League midfielders in terms of creating chances.
I saw his effort in the Portugal match against Spain, he didn't settle into the match quickly but he was able to produce an assist for Portugal's equalizer that helped them secure a draw from the encounter.
Last night against Switzerland, he stepped up to score Portugal's fourth goal. He was clinical and the finishing was perfect despite the challenges he faced trying to put the ball in the net. If the award board would be fair, Cancelo deserves the award because he has proven to be a real asset to both club and country football.
Cristiano Ronaldo was another talking point for me, seeing him score twice and create one assist tells that there is more to that man who has proven that age is just a number.
His mother was there to cheer him up yesterday and seeing her cry after the first goal got me emotional while watching. The Portuguese legend doesn't stop proving the quality he is from time to time even though the world is expecting much from him at that age.
I sometimes read about how they claimed that he was a setback to Manchester United and I laughed because this man that people enjoy criticizing is Manchester United's highest goal scorer in the 2021/22 season. I wonder what the team would look like without him, he has singlehandedly won matches for United during their lowest moments.
The ex-Manchester United manager doesn't seem to understand that age isn't on Ronaldo's side and he doesn't fit into the role of running around tackling for the ball anymore, he only needs passes and crosses to score goals for the club. In the match against Switzerland, Diogo Jota and Octavio were there to make his job easy and you saw how productive he was.
He could have gotten a hat trick or even more if he was able to convert all the chances that he had, I don't know if he would be with Manchester United in the coming season but I believe that he would still have a great impact on the team if allowed to stay.
Understanding your player is one thing managers need to start doing because that would allow you to have your way with them and make them productive. Portugal had a great game yesterday and I can confidently tell that they are the biggest contender for the ticket into the next round of the competition after Spain was held by Czech Republic.