Manchester City Ace to Blame After Collapse vs Real Madrid ?
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson will have to bear a lot of the blame for his side’s heart-breaking last minute defeat to Real Madrid.
Brahim Diaz netted a second equaliser just moments after coming onto the pitch, before superstar Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in the dying embers of the game.
Such is the case against Real Madrid, however, that a one-goal lead is scarcely ever enough. Kylian Mbappe equalised on the hour mark, but City would restore their lead through Haaland with 10 minutes of regular time remaining. Despite the timing of the Norwegian’s goal, the Etihad would be stunned into silence by full-time.
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As such, should City hope for silverware this season, it will be either the FA Cup or the Champions League. Fans will hardly be optimistic after yet another collapse from their side, however, with one player in particular bearing the brunt of fan sadness.
It has been a tough season for Manchester City, having been eliminated from the Carabao Cup and struggling massively in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side are 15 points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the table, with a fifth-straight title looking increasingly unlikely with each passing week.
Against Madrid, however, Ederson struggled with all three goals he conceded. Mbappe’s effort, though completely scuffed, was enough to outsmart the Brazilian, who was also slow to react to Diaz’s strike when the midfielder scored Madrid’s second equaliser of the night.
Ederson’s Performance Against Madrid
Shot-stopper looked sluggish
Ederson has been a cornerstone of Guardiola’s City team since arriving in Manchester from Benfica in 2017. The Brazilian has brilliant reflexes which, when combined with his outstanding distribution, have seen him comfortably ranked amongst Europe’s best goalkeepers in recent years.
Ederson began the game solidly enough, something that is evident in his stats from the match. At such a level, however, the loss of composure shown by the shot-stopper simply can not happen.
For Bellingham’s winner, Ederson, who is on around £100,000 per week, made the decision to rush off his line after a poor pass backwards from Rico Lewis. He lost the race, crucially, as Vinicius Junior did enough to lift it over Ederson into Bellingham’s path. He was left with little choice, but if a goalkeeper chooses to break so far from his goal, he must do so knowing that he will win the ball.
Fans React to Ederson’s Performance
Cityzens hardly impressed by their goalkeeper
Fans were understandably angered by Ederson’s performance on social media, given the magnitude of the match. One fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and stated: “Ederson can never play for us again,” while another said: “Completely, completely unacceptable performance, Ederson. The type of performance that should be his last game for the club. Complete embarrassment.”
He picked up a 5/10 score in the GIVEMESPORT player ratings. and the Express were equally as damning as journalist Tom Parsons gave the same mark and noted that he Ederson “was beaten too easily for the goals and found himself in no man’s land for the winner as he raced out of his goal and failed to get to the ball.”
Madrid showed why they were the Champions League kings with another superb comeback
Another fan said: “Ederson has been shocking,” one noted that the goalkeeper “can’t leave soon enough” as another fan explicitly labelled Ederson an “absolute disgrace to the badge of this club.”
