One Manchester City player out on loan has been criticised by the local media for his poor performance at the weekend in a huge game.
City had a big game of their own on Saturday, as they took on Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Bernardo Silva scored in a 1-0 win, and Pep Guardiola will once again battle Erik ten Hag and Manchester United in the final, after the Red Devils squeezed past Coventry City in their semi.
It was a big effort from the City players after their exertions in midweek against Real Madrid, who won on penalties.
On Sunday, there was another big game – El Clasico over in Spain.
Real Madrid, buoyed after defeating City, beat Barcelona 3-2 at the Bernabeu, and there was a very poor showing from Joao Cancelo, who has drawn criticism…
Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo ‘disappeared’ for Barcelona against Real Madrid
Cancelo was making his 36th appearance of the season for Barca against Real Madrid on Sunday, and would have been keen to bounce back after going out of the Champions League to Paris Siant-Germain.
But Cancelo had a game to forget.
After Barca had gone 1-0 up through Andreas Christensen, Lucas Vazquez danced his way past Cancelo with ease into the penalty area, before being taken down by Pau Cubarsi.
Then, after Barca had regained their lead, Vinicius Junior crossed to the back post, with Vazquez ghosting in behind Cancelo who was completely unaware.
The winger finished really well, but Cancelo afforded him far too much space.
Real Madrid would go on to find a late winner through Jude Bellingham, and the Spanish media have panned Cancelo for his performance.
Sport reported that he ‘disappeared from the play’ in Madrid, and that Vazquez had got past him with ‘surprising ease’ on the first goal. Cancelo then ‘completely ignored’ the Real star on the second.
Cancelo’s defensive capabilities questioned again
It would appear Cancelo still has a lot of work to do on his defending.
His technical ability and attacking quality have never been in doubt. Kyle Walker recently said that the Portuguese was the best technical full-back he’s ever seen.
But he is still prone to defensive errors. Against PSG last week, he was also at fault for the goal Ousmane Dembele scored and also conceded a penalty for a rash challenge on the Frenchman – something that left Thierry Henry dumbfounded.
City are looking to offload £250,000-a-week man Cancelo permanently this summer and the 29-year-old is keen to depart.
These poor defensive showings though are not good news for City and could affect his market value come the summer.