Pep Guardiola insisted he never considered replacing Abdukodir Khusanov in the first half of his nightmare debut vs Chelsea - but he would be forgiven for wondering what he was seeing in front of him.

Khusanov's struggles after his Manchester City arrival were obvious. A nervous welcome for the youngster, who speaks little English, and a start to life at the Etihad which saw him give away a goal and yellow card within four minutes two weeks ago.

He recovered well that day, but was still replaced in the second half. And to make his arrival worse his planned unveiling to fans at the Etihad was cancelled at the last minute due to a fire metres away from the stage he was about to walk out on.

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But Guardiola saw his senior players rally round Khusanov against Chelsea and refused to criticise the Uzbekistan international after his mistakes. Phil Foden made an effort with him in training, Khusanov watched from the stands against Brugge and from the bench at Arsenal, and he was introduced at half-time against Leyton Orient in the cup.

A chance to put right the wrongs of Chelsea, and Khusanov's delight when he inadvertently diverted Rico Lewis' shot into the goal at Brisbane Road was clear to see. As he saw the ball nestle into the far corner, Khusanov clenched both fists and roared in relief.

Finally, something has gone right for him after a fortnight that must have felt like a lifetime.

“I’m happy for him. He’s come in and he had a tough start," said Lewis, refusing to claim the goal as his own. "Like you saw today, he came in and was really good. He controlled the game well and controlled the long balls. I’ll take the assist for it, if it goes down as that. I’m just happy for him.”

Lewis is right to focus on Khusanov's contribution. He was everything City said he would be when he signed (and everything those YouTube compilations hinted at).

He was strong, got stuck in, made three clearances in 45 minutes (only Vitor Reis made more), and complemented John Stones well. Only five players made more touches in the game despite him playing just half the match, and only three players made more passes.

His heatmap at Orient is more one of a right-back, showing his adaptability in a back three when Rico Lewis pushed forwards. Orient are, were course, a different test to Chelsea, but Khusanov can build on this now having shown City why they signed him.

"He is so fast, he's a hard man, he's strong in the duels. He's a nightmare for strikers," said former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Petit, having watched Khusanov in his native France, in comments that City can see much more from his second outing than his first.

"His quality is fighting, understanding of movement, but as well, his speed. This guy plays with such anger. He wants to hit everyone on the pitch because he's coming from a poor country, poor background."

Despite Khusanov's preference for a battle, Guardiola admitted that playing him alongside fellow new signing Reis was 'too much risk', so he swapped his central pairing at the break to let one play with Dias and the other with Stones.

Reis was thrown straight into the battle on his debut in English football, Orient targeting him over the top and getting joy in the early stages. But he was equal to the test with some nice passing, important clearances in front of goal, and a promising debut in a difficult environment.

It is no surprise that Guardiola partnered Reis with Dias given Reis is more of a ball-playing defender and Dias is more physical. And then the roles changed when the fast, physical Khusanov was next to Stones and his range of passing and movement.

If the pair are the future of City's defence, they showed glimpses of their talents. And with both complementing their more senior colleagues well enough, the early signs suggest they will be able to partner each other in the future with a nice mix of strength, power, pace and the passing ability required to play for City.