Manuel Akanji has been speaking about his red card on Saturday ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash between Manchester City and BSC Young Boys.
The Switzerland international commented on the situation in his pre-match press conference.
So, what did Manuel Akanji say about his first red card for Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, the £15m man is not happy.
Akanji believes he did not even foul Ansu Fati – and claims that the Spain international went down very easily.
By the sounds of it, the Manchester City No.25 cannot believe he was given his marching orders by Rob Jones.
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Akanji said: “Really frustrated, it was not even a foul. I touched him a little bit on the hip but let go after less than a second. He took two steps and fell and the ref gave me a second yellow. Really disappointed. I wanted to play in the derby.”
As the 28-year-old mentions, he will now miss Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
Akanji is – however – still allowed to play against BSC Young Boys on Wednesday night, as his red card did not come in a UEFA competition.
Manuel Akanji must learn from Manchester City mistake
Aside from the red card, Akanji was also at fault for Brighton’s goal on Saturday as his poor clearance allowed Fati to score with ease.
Fortunately, it did not cost Manchester City, and Pep Guardiola’s side were able to escape with a narrow 2-1 win.
However, performances like the one from Akanji cannot continue to happen, and the Swiss defender must learn from it if he wants to stay in the starting XI, especially as talents such as John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol are fighting for starts in central defence.
