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Nobody expected a full-back to score a brace to win the Carabao Cup final, but Pep Guardiola utilised Nico O'Reilly in a different way... “No one wants to grow up and be a Gary Neville.” Full-back has always been a bit of a joke position. Jamie Carragher mused that they were either failed centre-backs or failed wingers. But over time we’ve seen the likes of Joao Cancelo, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marc Cucurella, Riccardo Calafiori, and now, Nico O’Reilly push the limits of the role. In fact, has full-back become the most important position on the pitch in modern football? Ayo Akinwolere is joined by Jon Mackenzie and Alex Barker to find out. This is The Athletic’s Week In Football. Read more on Nico O'Reilly on The Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7065457/2026/02/24/nico-oreilly-midfielder-manchester-city/ Welcome to The Athletic FC's YouTube channel, where best-in-class journalism meets video. ------------ Timestamps: 00:00 No one wants to grow up and be a Gary Neville… 00:13 How Pep Guardiola is getting the best out of Nico O’Reilly 04:15 How the full-back position has evolved over time 08:51 How modern tactics changed full-backs 10:22 Riccardo Calafiori’s full-back role at Arsenal 13:23 Marc Cucurella’s full-back role at Chelsea 16:07 What’s the next evolution for full-backs? ------------ Try The Athletic for FREE for 30 days: https://theathletic.com/checkout2/intro30/?source=video_youtube_theathleticfc Watch our latest uploads here 👉 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9HdRjQJ0mH6bJW9MeLavdgTi-vMbJtrg&si=uKJJXdcnzAYGWiJo 💻 🎧 Watch the Tifo Football Podcast here https://www.youtube.com/@tifo-podcast 📬 Sign up for The Athletic FC Newsletter here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/the-athletic-fc/ Follow The Athletic FC: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAthleticFC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theathleticfc TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theathleticfc Listen to The Athletic Football Podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/TAFPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/69AAB4ojTuK7gwy3ZdQdB9 Subscribe to The Athletic FC newsletter for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/the-athletic-fc/ Follow The Athletic's Premier League WhatsApp Channel here: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va4OzCyKwqSbZb1pna0K ------------ Additional footage sourced from AP Newsroom