“I back myself” – Anis Mehmeti feeling confident and owning responsibility for Bristol City

If one thing is true in this life, it is that Anis Mehmeti loves proving people wrong.

The winger was a star for Bristol City at Carrow Road as they eased past a Norwich City already on the ropes. Mehmeti opened the scoring for the Robins after just 16 minutes, receiving the ball neatly from left back Haydon Roberts before shimmying and slotting the ball into the bottom right corner with his left foot.

Not only was the Albanian international the scorer of the first goal, he also was a key component in the creation of the second, intercepting Shane Duffy’s loose ball before playing it to Jason Knight who set up Nahki Wells to double the Reds’ lead.

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“I can’t actually remember it,” Mehmeti said with a chuckle after the game, attempting to recall his actions for his opener before quickly remembering the events.

“How can I forget…I was in the opposite pocket, he punched it into me and then I had to do a bit to shift it onto my left. I know I can strike with both feet comfortably, so it was a great finish from me.”

Beaming with pride, he then went on to describe his involvement in the second.

“I’ve pounced on it, played Jason and Nahki’s done what he does and slapped it in. It shows we can score different types of goals and shows what type of team we are. We’ve got so much running capacity up there that we’re so lethal in transition.”

Mehmeti’s goal against the Yellows was his second in just five days.

The 23-year-old was a premature addition in Tuesday night’s defeat to Sheffield United, coming off after just six minutes for the injured Mark Sykes.

He made a solid impact that evening at Ashton Gate as he grasped the opportunity to dispatch a penalty won by Sinclair Armstrong with both hands, with no doubt in his mind that he’d score.

“Confidence is everything in the game and in the last game I came on the pitch very early and had to take responsibility to grab the penalty, where I back myself, always,” Mehmeti continued, chest puffed.

“Today…I probably could’ve had two or three. I’m in the team to score goals so I’m delighted with it.

“I’m delighted with the win. I thought we were hard done by on Tuesday, especially being one-nil up, but that’s how you respond. That’s the Championship; you’ve got to turn it around and look forward to the next game and we certainly did that today.”

The London-born boy was in familiar territory on Saturday afternoon.

At 16 years old, Mehmeti signed for Norwich City on a two-year scholarship, however he was unable to break through in Norfolk.

Despite not being deemed good enough for the Canaries, the winger has now managed to bag at Carrow Road, just not for the home team.

“The game’s the game,” shrugged Mehmeti.

“It’s good to see some old faces but at the end of the day it’s business.

“That’s life. They didn’t give me the opportunity to do so I’m delighted that I’m here now and scoring here. I have some good memories here, but football moves fast. I’m buzzing with the goal.“

Showing the Canaries crowd surely would have been an extra sweet moment for Mehmeti and will no doubt give him the confidence to keep proving people wrong.

As he continues to grow and improve as a player, Mehmeti only has a few older influences to look up to in what is now quite a young Robins squad.

One that he does lean on, though, is Nahki Wells.

The veteran striker made, and scored on, his 500 ^th career league appearance against Norwich after making the centre forward position his own over the past few weeks.

“I’d probably say he’s one of my closest mates here,” revealed Mehmeti.

“He’s always telling me areas to put the ball in, different runs he makes. He’s a top player.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him. There have been games where he hasn’t played; he didn’t start the season playing and he wants to play. Now he’s showing what type of player he really is. Off the pitch, he’s a legend. 500 games today so I’m buzzing for him.”

This City team is young, hungry, and united, a combination that could be very dangerous for teams facing them over the remainder of the season.

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