The Brazilian international capped off a fine afternoon’s work at the St Mary’s Stadium with his distribution being instrumental in the initial build-up to Raheem Sterling’s match-winning strike.
It was yet further demonstration of Ederson’s natural skill, vision and comfort on the ball.
And for former goalkeeper James – who was making his first appearance as a special guest on our We’re Not Really Here matchday show - it provided yet more evidence of Ederson’s crucial value and importance to City.
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“We have to go all the way back to Ederson (for the goal), that is what makes him special,” said the former England and City number one.
“The way he can make that long ball. The press by City was fantastic and we forced the issue, after the goal we tailed off a bit, but it put us in a good position.
“We all know he’s an outfield player at heart!
“This guy can hit it anywhere on the pitch. That’s an armour that many teams don’t have.
“I could imagine Ederson’s great at penalties because of the way he hits the ball.
“I wouldn’t want to be on the end of it!”
Sterling’s 16th minute strike featured yet another assist by Kevin De Bruyne – his seventh of the season already.
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It came at the end of a week which saw our Belgian midfielder named in the FIFPRO World X1 – and James was effusive in his praise for the 29-year-old’s all-round quality
“I was buzzing off Kevin since he was at Wolfsburg,” James added.
“It’s not just his passing and shooting, it was his defensive contribution.
“You’ve basically got a defender, midfielder and attacker in the team.”
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