Riyad Mahrez - Player of the Week

Mahrez magic keeps Leicester flying high

Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez scored his fourth goal of the season as The Foxes earned a draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur and maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. The match was played at a slow pace for much of the game due to the hot weather conditions, unusual for the UK even in summer, and included the unusual sight of drinks breaks after 25 minutes of each half. There were few chances and the match looked like it would finish goalless, but Tottenham took a surprise lead in the 81st minute. Nacer Chadli crossed the ball and Deli Alli headed the ball home from close range. The lead only lasted 90 seconds, Jamie Vardy found Mahrez in space on the edge of the area and the Algerian forward hit an unstoppable shot into the net. Leicester looked for a winner in the last few minutes, but the match finished 1-1.  

"It was an outstanding goal and Riyad Mahrez is a very good player."  New Leicester City manager, Claudio Ranieri.

If the Premier League season had started in April,.......?

Mahrez was Man of the Match against Spurs and scored his fourth goal of the season and is top goalscorer in the Premier League this season. He has made a much better start to the season than some of the favourites to win this season's golden boot: Sergio Aguero (1 goal), Diego Costa (1 goal), Wayne Rooney (0 goals), Alexis Sanchez (0 goals). In fact, Mahrez has continued what he started at the end of last season as the Algerian international has scored six goals in his last six Premier League games. It's not only Mahrez who has been in great form but all of the Leicester team. Since April 1st 2015, Leicester have won an amazing 29 points in their last 12 Premier League matches (9 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat). If the Premier League season had started on April 1st, Leicester would be top of the Premier League table!   

"I feel very good and I scored an important goal for the team. The most important thing is the team and not losing today."  Riyad Mahrez.

What do we know about Riyad Mahrez?

Riyad Mahrez was born on 21 February 1991 in Sarcelles, which is a suburb in the north of Paris, the French capital. His mother is from Morocco and his father from the small Algerian town of Beni Snous, in the north-west of the country, near the border with Morocco. Mahrez chose to play international football for Algeria, the country where his father was born. With big French clubs like Marseille and Paris St. Germain watching closely, Mahrez decided to join Le Havre in 2010 as it was  easier to break into the first team. He made a total of 60 appearances for Le Havre, before moving to Leicester in January 2014. Leicester were then in the Championship (level 2 of English football), but Mahrez played well and helped Leicester win promotion to the Premier League. He also won a place in Algeria's squad for the World Cup in Brazil. In the Premier League, Mahrez has scored 11 goals and is fast becoming one of Leicester's key players, which led the club to offer him a new 4-year contract in August 2015.

"The fans are great, we have good team spirit and I just really like this Club. I feel very good here and that’s why I signed for another four years."  Riyad Mahrez.

Is Mahrez the only Algerian in the Premier League?

Since signing for Leicester, Mahrez's career has got better and better and now many bigger Premier League clubs are starting to look at him. New Leicester manager, Claudio Ranieri, has had to say that he is not available for transfer. He is now an important member of the Algeria squad. He helped the Desert Foxes reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2014, before they lost, in extra-time, against eventual Champions, Germany. He has made 17 appearances for the national team and scored 3 goals. Mahrez is not the only Algerian in the Premier League, in fact, there was another Algerian on the pitch in Leicester's match against Tottenham. Nabil Bentaleb has made over 40 Premier League appearances for Spurs and is an international teammate of Mahrez. Other Algerians currently in the Premier League include Essaïd Belkalem at Watford and Adlène Guedioura at Crystal Palace.

"We won’t sell Mahrez so there is no price, so it’s much better if other clubs don’t ask."  New Leicester City manager, Claudio Ranieri.

How often do you go to the barber's?

Mahrez is a player who likes to take a trip to the barber's, he looks after his hair, which you can see by looking at the photos on this page. There are plenty of different hairstyles on the football pitch, from sharp, shaved sides and a side parting on top like Mahrez or Cristiano Ronaldo, to the dreadlocks of Swansea City's Bafetimbi Gomis, the huge Afro of Marouan Fellaini or anything worn by Mario Balotelli. Many people get nervous before they go to the barber's, especially if English is not their first language, but don't worry, we are here to help. You can learn lots of vocabulary and phrases related to haircuts in our great video series, 'The English Game'. 

Which player has got the best haircut in the Premier League?

Click on talk and quiz and let us know what you think!