Manchester City No.6 Nathan Ake has been criticised by Dutch media for his performance as the Netherlands recorded a 1-0 win over Greece.
It was Football Oranje who ripped into the 28-year-old.
So, what was written about Nathan Ake? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, the Netherlands international has now been told to “be better” after Ronald Koeman’s side narrowly scraped past Greece in UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying.
It was Virgil van Dijk who scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 93rd minute.
Writing about Ake’s performance, Football Oranje stated: “Again not at his best in Oranje and was exposed in the second half a little. Good in the air but needs to be better on the ball.”
The £41m man was also given a 6/10 match rating.
Ake certainly could have been better with his defensive actions, winning just two of his attempted six ground duels while committing two fouls as well – according to SofaScore.
However, the suggestion that he was bad on the ball seems strange.
Ake completed 85 of his attempted 92 passes, registering a success rate of 92% while also taking 100 touches of the ball.
Nathan Ake must improve at Manchester City
While Ake certainly wasn’t horrendous against Greece, there have been signs of late that suggest he needs to step up a bit.
The £110,000-a-week man was torn apart by Pedro Neto in the recent 2-1 defeat to Wolves, and with John Stones now closing in on a return to action, the pressure to stay in the starting XI is on.
There is also the presence of Josko Gvardiol – who Guardiola signed in a £77.6m deal from RB Leipzig.
The Croatian was actually left on the bench for that defeat against Wolves, so Ake really doesn’t have much room for error if he is to keep starting at Manchester City.
