Manchester City cruised past Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night when they booked themselves a fourth-round Carabao Cup tie against Brighton with a thumping 5-0 win. Enzo Maresca got the performance he would have wanted by a host of City’s young and squad players. Floyd Samba bagged a brace and his overall performance up front was superb. Allan showed flashes of what he will add to this City side with a promising debut display on both wings. Another player who impressed was young centre-back Vitor Reis. Reis was cool and composed at the back on both sides of the ball as he helped Manchester City cruise past Norwich City.

Vitor Reis put an assured and composed display at the back for Manchester City against Norwich City.

In truth, Manchester City weren’t really tested by Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night. After a clunky opening 25 minutes, Enzo Maresca’s side put their foot down to walk away with a 5-0 win. The gulf in class between the two teams was impossible to ignore. It was to be expected in a meeting between a club hoping to contend for the Premier League title and a side sitting in mid-table in the Championship. However, there were plenty of positives to take from the match for Manchester City. The performance of Vitor Reis was one.

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In possession, Vitor Reis was calm and assured. In statistics sourced from SofaScore, Reis completed 147/149 passes. He was important to Manchester City’s dominance of possession throughout the third-round Carabao Cup tie. Vitor Reis also completed 4/4 long balls as his composure and ability to play as a ball-playing centre-back stood out.

Defensively, Vitor Reis didn’t have a lot to do. Norwich City didn’t offer much of a threat until the game was over with 20 minutes to go. However, Vitor Reis was solid in the air and read the game well to snuff out any potential danger. Physically, Reis held his own against a Championship side. It was clear to see that Vitor Reis has matured physically, which sets him up well to succeed in England. All told, Vitor Reis played well throughout Manchester City’s thumping win.

There will be bigger tests for Vitor Reis to come but he looks ready to take them on.

Vitor Reis put in the performance he needed to against Norwich City. The Manchester City defence wasn’t tested but the young Brazilian defender did all he had to do at the Etihad Stadium. There will be bigger tests to come for Reis to navigate as a City player. That isn’t a slight on Norwich, that is just the reality. However, if Reis’ performance against Norwich City is the marker he has laid down, he will be more than ready for the challenges that will arise when Reis faces a higher quality of opponents.