‘45 minutes were enough’ – Swiss press blown away by Aston Villa star Johan Manzambi

Johan Manzambi’s reputation continues to grow in Switzerland after the Aston Villa midfielder produced another hugely impressive international performance, scoring and playing a major part in another goal despite only being on the pitch for 45 minutes.

Switzerland beat North Macedonia 3-0 in Lucerne on Tuesday night to maintain their perfect Nations League record, but the scoreline perhaps disguises how difficult the opening half of the game was for Murat Yakin’s side. Five changes had been made to the starting XI and Switzerland struggled for rhythm, with Fabian Rieder’s goal shortly before half-time giving them a lead that their performance had done little to suggest was coming.

Manzambi had been left out of the starting side after a busy international period, which was probably welcome news from an Aston Villa perspective given the amount of football he has played since only recently returning from his knee problem. He had played 62 minutes in each of Switzerland’s opening two games of the break before completing the full 90 against Slovenia, meaning another start would have represented a significant workload for a player Villa have had to manage carefully.

The rest did not last particularly long. Manzambi was introduced at half-time alongside Ardon Jashari and the assessment across the Swiss media was remarkably consistent: the game changed when he came on.

Blick named Manzambi as Switzerland’s best player, writing that he brought “significantly more steam” after replacing Djibril Sow and describing how Switzerland suddenly began to “dance” after his introduction. The report noted that the national side created considerably more danger between the 45th and 60th minutes than they had managed during the entire opening half.

It was Manzambi who eventually made it 2-0 in the 73rd minute. The goal itself certainly owed something to North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, who should have dealt with the Villa midfielder’s long-range effort, but there was something revealing about Manzambi being prepared to take the shot in the first place during a game in which Switzerland had often struggled to find a way through.

He then had a significant involvement in the third. Manzambi aggressively pressed the North Macedonian defence, helping Switzerland regain possession before Dan Ndoye finished the move to make it 3-0. Blick highlighted that contribution as another reason for selecting the 20-year-old as their standout performer.

Perhaps the most striking assessment came from Bote, whose player-ratings piece made Manzambi its man of the match and summed up his impact perfectly in the headline: 45 minutes were enough.

French outlet Homme du Match went even further, awarding Manzambi an 8.5 and also naming him their man of the match. Their assessment was that his introduction “literally transformed” Switzerland, with his speed, intensity, willingness to take risks and ability to carry the ball towards defenders providing everything that had been absent during the first half.

They also highlighted something Villa supporters are already beginning to see: Manzambi nearly always wants to move the game forwards. Rather than simply retaining possession, his instinct was to attack North Macedonia, carry the ball towards their defensive block and force defenders backwards. His pressing for the third goal was also singled out as evidence that his contribution went considerably beyond scoring.

SRF, Switzerland’s public broadcaster, reached a similar conclusion. They described Manzambi’s creativity as bringing “new momentum” to the Swiss attack and said the double substitution at half-time immediately increased the home side’s presence in the game.

Le Temps also felt the introduction of Manzambi and Jashari brought an immediate dynamism to Switzerland after what had been their least convincing performance of this Nations League campaign, while Léman Bleu said the changes had an “immediate effect” on Switzerland’s ability to move the ball forwards.

The numbers back up what the reports saw. Manzambi received an 8.2 FotMob rating despite playing only the second half, while Sofascore rated him at 8.8 after recording three key passes and two big chances created alongside his goal.

From a Villa perspective, there is probably a double benefit to the way the evening unfolded. Manzambi has now played a considerable amount of football during this international break after missing the beginning of the season through injury, starting with 62 minutes in each of Switzerland’s opening two matches before completing the full 90 against Slovenia. Tuesday night’s 45 minutes took him to 259 minutes across four matches in the space of 11 days.

That is a sizeable workload for a player Villa have had to manage carefully following his return from a knee problem, but there is also an obvious benefit to him getting competitive football back into his legs. The balance was always going to be making sure it did not become too much, too soon, so Yakin leaving him out of the starting XI against North Macedonia was probably welcomed at Bodymoor Heath.

The problem for Yakin is that Switzerland suddenly looked a much better side once Manzambi was introduced.

He got 45 minutes rather than another 90, came through them without any apparent problem and still managed to have arguably the biggest influence on the game. After the amount of football he has played over the break, that feels about as good an outcome as Villa could have hoped for.

For Villa, the most encouraging part might be that we are still seeing a player working his way back towards full rhythm. Manzambi has not had anything approaching a conventional start to his first season in England, yet whenever he has been able to get onto the pitch for any sustained period, his influence has been difficult to ignore.

I am genuinely so excited to see him play at Villa Park on Saturday. We have already had glimpses of what Manzambi can bring to this Villa side, particularly with the way he can change the speed and direction of a game when he gets on the ball, but there is something building around him now. You only have to look at the way the Swiss press are talking about him to see that.

He went away with Switzerland needing minutes and has come back having further enhanced a reputation that was already growing rapidly. He has been one of their most influential players across the break, he has been protected slightly with only 45 minutes in the final game and now hopefully Villa get the benefit of all that football.

There are plenty of players I am looking forward to watching at Villa Park this season, but Manzambi is right at the top of that list at the moment. Saturday should be the first opportunity for the home crowd to properly see the player Switzerland are already getting very excited about.

Forty-five minutes on Tuesday night were enough for an entire game to change around him. Hopefully on Saturday, we get to see what he can do in claret and blue.