"One of the most overrated players", "Fell off so bad" - Fans fume at Manchester City star as club lose to Juventus in UCL clash

Fans on X have called out Josko Gvardiol for his underwhelming performance in Manchester City's 2-0 loss to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, December 11. The Cityzens have won just one of their last 10 fixtures across competitions and are 22nd in the CL's league phase table.

After a goalless first half, Dusan Vlahovic opened the scoring in the 53rd minute after being set up by Kenan Yildiz. In the 75th minute, Weston McKennie doubled Juventus' lead as Timothy Weah turned provider. Despite City's efforts to get back into the game, the clash ended 2-0 in favor of Thiago Motta's Juventus.

In 90 minutes on the pitch, Gvardiol made zero tackles and lost five out of the six duels he contested. The Croatian defender also committed two fouls. Fans on X expressed their dissatisfaction with the 22-year-old’s performance, with one tweeting:

"One of the most overrated players ever Gvardiol.”

Expand Tweet

"Gvardiol fell off so badly that im just shocked. A complete different player. This is an off season. I aint expecting nothing tbh,” a fan added.

"Gvardiol has acc had a stinker today,” another fan added.

"Gvardiol not good enough again- no one will question him tho as he had a good few months. 80mill yet ake 10 times the player,” a fan opined.

"Gvardiol needs resting man. Send him on a full 2-3 week vacation but we can’t,” another fan opined.

"100M for ‘Gvardiol’ what even happened to this sport 🤣🤣🤣🤣,” wrote another.

Expand Tweet

Gvardiol has scored three goals in 23 appearances across competitions this season.

Manchester City interested in signing Pau Cubarsi from Barcelona - Reports

Real Betis Balompie v FC Barcelona - La Liga EA Sports - Source: Getty

Manchester City are willing to offer €70 million to Barcelona for Pau Cubarsi, as per Fichajes.net (via Transfer News Live on X).

Cubarsi has proven to be a key player for Barcelona in defense this season, registering 23 appearances across all competitions. In 17 LaLiga games, he has won 58 ground duels and registered 38 clearances.

The 17-year-old centre-back broke into La Blaugrana's first team last season and has now become a fixture in their starting line-up. He has also won five caps for the Spanish national team. Although City's defense could greatly benefit from the signing of Cubarsi, he is contracted to Barca until June 2027 and the Catalonian giants are unlikely to sell the youngster.

About the author

Abel is an European football journalist who focuses primarily on analysis pieces and preview copies at Sportskeeda. A B.Sc degree holder in Economics, he has a previous work experience of 3 years – a year at Opera News Hub where he was promoted as a 'Verified Sports Writer,’ and over two years at Sportskeeda as a revenue-share writer, where his writing skills have ultimately led him to be integrated into the in-house team.

A Manchester United fan who grew up in a family of Red Devils supporters, he started his journey as an ardent football fan in his childhood. He used to spend hours watching the sport with his family and developed a knack for writing about the beautiful game over the years.

He is a huge admirer of Paul Pogba owing to the midfielder's ability to thread passes from anywhere on the pitch and his favorite manager is Jose Mourinho due to the Portuguese's tactical mind. He feels France's triumph in 2018 is his all-time favorite World Cup moment, and reckons Lamine Yamal and Endrick could replicate the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Abel always strives to verify information, especially statistics, before penning a word and offers constructive but not defamatory criticisms. Apart from Europe's top five leagues, he follows the Eredivisie and the Primeira Liga. He loves to spend his free time playing video games like EA FC and watching movies.

Know More

Edited by Arshit Garg