During the Champions League play-off first leg that took place at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, Manchester City fans were not particularly pleased with one player in particular. Real Madrid defeated Manchester City by a score of 3-2 over Manchester City.
Erling Haaland scored the only goal of the first half of the match, which was a nail-biting contest, and it was the goal that put City ahead. The goal was scored on 19 minutes, and it was the only goal of the first half.
At the hour mark, Kylian Mbappé scored a goal that tied the score by landing an acrobatic volley that went past Ederson, the custodian for City.
On the other hand, twenty minutes later, the home team took the lead after Dani Ceballos committed a foul on Phil Foden inside the penalty area.
Following that, Haaland, who is 24 years old, executed the subsequent penalty kick with skill, giving his team a 2-1 lead.
Moreover, it appeared as though the Premier League team would have a successful evening. However, in a manner that is typical of Real Madrid, they responded with a goal scored by Brahim Diaz on the 86th minute.
When Jude Bellingham latched onto Vinicius Jr.’s lob over the advancing Ederson in the second half stoppage time, Pep Guardiola could hardly believe what he was seeing. Bellingham then tapped the ball home from close range despite Ederson’s best efforts.
But throughout the game, City supporters brought attention to a single player who, according to many, had a poor performance and was partially to blame for Madrid’s goal that ultimately won the match.
Rico Lewis came on as a substitute for Manuel Akanji at halftime. Akanji was struggling with a knock and did not return for the second half of the game.
Before Vini Jr. ran towards the goal in the lead up to Los Blancos’ third goal, Lewis, who is 20 years old, was unable to clear a ball that was bouncing around.
It didn’t take long for followers on social media to share their opinions regarding the player’s performance.
A particular individual stated: “Rico Lewis, I swear, they will never ever convince me that you’re good.”
“Rico Lewis is not going to be able to make it to the Premier League,” said another. Give him a loan to the Championship team.
“Why put on Rico Lewis when Khusanov is a much better defender and offers more pace?” This was the explanation provided by a third team member. Once again, another Pep-class disaster!
A fourth individual made the following observation: “The game was lost when Guardiola decided to bring on Rico Lewis to defend against Vinicius Jr instead of Khusanov.”
There was a fifth person who stated, “In all honesty, Rico Lewis, I don’t see it.”
“Rico Lewis is not Manchester City standard, let’s be real,” said a sixth who was critical of the player.
