"Schoolboy defending" - Roy Keane slams experienced Manchester City star for performance against Liverpool

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has criticized Manchester City right-back Joao Cancelo for his poor defensive performance in his team's recent 1-0 loss at Liverpool.

City were handed their first Premier League defeat of the ongoing season during their trip to Anfield on Sunday, October 16.

After a competitive first-half of the contest, both teams were pushing for the opener. Salah broke the deadlock in the 76th minute in emphatic fashion. After controlling a long ball from Alisson Becker, the Egyptian twisted away from Cancelo in style in the opposition half and scored confidently past an on-rushing Ederson.

Speaking on Sky Sports (via Mirror), Keane hit out at Cancelo for his lack of proper defensive judgment against Salah. He elaborated:

"Schoolboy defending, why he's tried to win the ball there, knowing if he gets it wrong, Salah is in on goal. What you do there is you slow him up, you hold him you, you get people back in around you, schoolboy defending. For an experienced player, it's schoolboy defending, shocking."

Former Reds great Jamie Carragher also chimed in and added:

"Cancelo is like Trent [Alexander-Arnold], he's not a good defender, Trent isn't. The reason why we're being more critical is because he's being exposed more. He's not all of a sudden became a worse defender and it's the same with Cancelo, if he had less protection, you'd see that more often."

Despite the narrow loss for Pep Guardiola's side, Keane asserted that the reigning champions will be up and running in no time. He said:

"They're a brilliant team, they weren't at their best today. Talk about Haaland, he still had two or three great chances despite not having the best service but City will bounce back. All brilliant teams bounce back."

Manchester City are currently second, four points behind leaders Arsenal, in the 2022-23 Premier League standings with 23 points from 10 games. Liverpool, on the other hand, climbed up to the eighth spot after beating the Cityzens. They now have 13 points from nine matches.

Liverpool extend unbeaten run against Manchester City with statement win

Despite their worst Premier League start in seven years, Liverpool continued their impressive unbeaten run against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Reds held their fierce rivals to two 2-2 draws in the Premier League last season. However, the club emerged triumphant in the FA Cup semi-final, beating City 3-2 at Wembley in April.

The two sides met again in the FA Community Shield in July this year, where Jurgen Klopp's men beat their opponents 3-1 to lift the trophy.

Liverpool proved to be lethal against the six-time Premier League winners in their most recent showdown. Even with less possession, fewer shots and passes, the Merseyside outfit outwitted Manchester City.