Julián Álvarez, who is on loan from Manchester City at River Plate, found the back of the net 6 times against Peruvian champions Alianza Lima last night in an 8-1 victory in the Copa Libertadores (South America’s version of the Champions League).
He scored with a variety of finishes using both feet including tap-ins, efforts from range and a cheeky chip over the keeper. He also showed off some impressive dribbling not so dissimilar from former Manchester City legend Sergio Agüero.
Álvarez signed for City in January for £14million before being loaned back to River Plate until June. He is expected to be part of Pep Guardiola’s plans for next season.
Reports had suggested another loan upon the Argentina International’s arrival had been planned for the 22-year-old’s development, but City CEO Ferran Soriano has since debunked those claims, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano on Julián Álvarez: “We’ve had many offers from clubs to loan Julian Alvarez - but he is not going to leave”, tells @sunmartinb. 🔵🇦🇷 #MCFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 25, 2022
“He will do pre-season with us and I think he will stay. Barcelona? No, Barça were not interested”. pic.twitter.com/ayfR137sXj
What Manchester City fans have to look forward to in Julian Alvarez
Álvarez is nicknamed ‘the spider’ because as a youth player he was so fast it looked like he was running with eight legs.
An adventure awaits this Spider-Man as he makes the move from Buenos Aires to Manchester. Pep Guardiola’s side have not played with a recognised striker since Álvarez’s compatriot Agüero left the club back in the summer of 2021.
Given the success of Argentines in the blue of City with the likes of Agüero and Carlos Tevez making big impacts, the pressure is already on the young striker.
Álvarez scored 23 goals in 57 appearances for River Plate which led City to sign him in January. During his loan spell back at River this season he has scored 8 goals in the Copa de la Liga with his form earning 7 senior caps for his country, scoring once against Ecuador.
City fans can expect a forward who should be perfectly moulded to Pep Guardiola’s tactics. He is predominantly a centre-forward but he can fill in as a left or right-winger.
At a young age, he has already won the Copa Libertadores, Argentine Primera División and was part of the Argentina squad that won the Copa America.
All six Julian Alvarez goals from River Plate’s 8-1 win in the Libertadores.
— Amos Murphy (@AmosMurphy_) May 26, 2022
The most impressive part about his double hat-trick is not one goal is the same. A goalscorer from all areas of the pitch.
pic.twitter.com/wbLmrhYiJO
In addition to the numbers put up, Álvarez has shown he can be a man for the big occasions scoring 3 goals in Superclásicos, (River Plate’s derby match against fierce rivals Boca Juniors) and also the Copa Argentina Final.
A potential reason to be fearful for Álvarez is that Manchester City are also poised to sign Erling Haaland. Haaland will be expected to be the main striker which is likely to affect Álvarez’s playing time and may force him to play on either flank.
However, if the young Argentine impresses as he did in the Libertadores on Wednesday night then Pep Guardiola must find a system that both Álvarez and Haaland can flourish in. With this also being a World Cup year, Álvarez needs playing time to ensure he is part of Lionel Scaloni’s plans for Argentina in Qatar.