“Needs to start playing football”, “Actions that don’t belong in the elite” – Fans blast 24-year-old Real Madrid star identified as ‘weak link’ after defeat to Man City

The two European heavyweights played out a Champions League epic with Real Madrid striking back on three occasions in a pulsating affair.

But throughout the game, Real Madrid looked suspect at the back. In particular, it was Militao who seemed nervous each time a City forward approached his area.

There was one particular moment that drew the ire of Los Blancos fans where Militao stepped out of defense allowing Riyad Mahrez to steal in and come close to scoring.

Dani Carvajal would spare the Brazilian the blushes following a rebound off the post from Mahrez's strike. It fell to Foden with Carvajal clearing off the line.

It's not just Madrid fans who have lamented the Brazilian's performance, as Militao has been deemed as Los Blancos' 'weak link'.

Here are some of the reactions to the 24-year-old's performance against Manchester City:

Real Madrid's defensive display against Manchester City proves they need Antonio Rudiger

According to Fabrizio Romano, Madrid have reached a verbal agreement with Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger.

The German is set to join on a free transfer when his contract with the Blues expires in the summer. If there was ever evidence needed to show why the signing is required, the latest performance of the team was it.

Madrid were poor positionally in defense. Both Militao and David Alaba had very disappointing performances at the heart of the La Liga side's defense.

Not only was Militao a nervous wreck through much of the semi-final clash but Alaba's experience seemingly went out of the window.

For Manchester City's second goal, Kevin De Bruyne threaded a ball through, towards Gabriel Jesus. Alaba should have shrugged the Brazilian off the ball, but he was easily ridded of by the City striker who then dispatched past Thibaut Courtois.

Real Madrid will be encouraged by their comeback on multiple occasions but defensively they are vulnerable.

Rudiger has been instrumental in Chelsea's defensive rejuvenation under Thomas Tuchel since the former PSG manager took over in 2021. He won the Champions League last season with the Blues and was pivotal in the hugely impressive defensive set-up Tuchel formulated.

Los Blancos fans will be thankful that their attackers, particularly Karim Benzema, are at the peak of their powers. Without them, they would surely be down and out.

Next Wednesday's second-leg fixture between the two sides promises to be a fascinating affair with City in the driving seat.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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