"Doesn't excel at anything", "I am fed up" - Fans unhappy with Manchester City star's inclusion in XI for Feyenoord clash
Manchester City fans have taken to X to express their dissatisfaction about Pep Guardiola’s decision to include academy graduate Rico Lewis in the starting XI in their clash with Dutch side Feyenoord in the Champions League. The 20-year-old was deployed in the right-back position, replacing Kyle Walker.
Manchester City will be hoping to bounce back from their disappointing run of form after losing five games in a row across competitions. They will host Feyenoord in their fifth group game of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign. While Rico Lewis has played the entirety of every Champions League game for City this term, he has suffered a dip in form of late.
The defender’s performance in Manchester City’s last three matches across competitions has not been really impressive. As per Sofascore, he had ratings of 6.8, 6.5, and 6.7. The 4-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend showed that Lewis had lost his defensive capabilities as he lost possession four times.
After City’s lineup for the clash against Feyenoord was released, fans were unhappy about Lewis’ inclusion.
One fan wrote:
''One of the biggest false images in football at the moment is Rico Lewis. Kid just doesn’t excel at anything.''
Another posted:
''Again Rico Lewis.. No McAtee. I am fed up.''
''Rico Lewis again!!! He’s too smallish to be bullied on the field. I wish he was a bit muscular,'' @kliphx chimed in.
''I’m watching the Bake Off final tonight. Sod watching Rico Lewis rob a living again,'' @simonr555 wrote.
''I’m so glad Rico Lewis got highlighted. He’s just not it,'' @tops881 opined.
Rico Lewis has featured in 18 games for Manchester City across competitions this season and provided four assists.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will try to prepare to beat Feyenoord ahead of UCL clash
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his side is poised to turn a bad spell around ahead of their clash with Feyenoord. The Spaniard said in the pre-match conference that they are looking towards the next game, which is Feyenoord, and will try to beat the Dutch side.
He told the club’s website:
“I learn from these situations, be calm. Sometimes I shout, but the next morning with a coffee, I’m saying why am I shouting, stay calm. It is quite normal after a game. What happens in the past makes an influence in our lives in the right moment."
"At the beginning of the season, we were first, we’re still second [in the Premier League]. It’s not about the results, right now, it is about the performance, which at the start of the season was really, really good, except the Bournemouth game."
“You can handle one or two players [being out], but not four or five in key positions. Maybe not five in a row, but it should happen. Tell me one team in the world that does not drop. I could never blame one player here. There’s a lot of minimal factors that are the reason. If it was one reason I would take it, but it’s not as simple."
"Right now, the most important thing is not tactics, it is to win a game on desire. You look at December and at the end of the season, whether you need to change things and be more solid, but these guys will do very, very good things. Prepare for the next game, try to beat them, which is Feyenoord. I don’t know any other thing to say.”
Manchester City are currently 12th in the UEFA Champions League standings with seven points from four games.
