Man City got their FIFA Club World Cup campaign off to the perfect start on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side were 2-0 winners over Moroccan side Wydad AC courtesy of goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku, with Man City’s Belgian star receiving praise from Andros Townsend for his performance in Philadelphia.
The contest was the first opportunity for Guardiola to have to look at what his newly rebuilt team have been working on over the last few weeks, with the work of set piece coach James French standing out.
The Man City boss would have been happy with some things he saw from his side, but the legendary boss was visibly angry at the end of the match with the match officials after Rico Lewis was harshly sent off late on in the contest, which also left fans fuming with the referee’s decision.
Man City fans are furious with Rico Lewis’ red card
With 88 minutes on the clock, Lewis slid in for a tackle and won the ball; however, after the action, the right-back caught the head of Wydad star, Samuel Obeng, which the referee deemed a red card.
The reaction from many pundits and football fans online to the decision suggests that the Man City star’s sending off was harsh, and fans of the Manchester club are all in agreement with each other on the incident.
Writing on X (formerly known as Twitter), one Man City fan said about the red card: “That’s honestly the most insane red I’ve ever seen.”
“I have never seen a straight red card like this in my lifetime,” another City supporter said about the incident.
A third Man City fan added: “That wasn’t even a foul. Rico Lewis got to the ball first. This ref has no idea what he’s doing.”
A final supporter of the Manchester club would add: “Outrageous. What is he supposed to do? He’s first on the ball. Is he supposed to freeze?”
Andros Townsend thinks Rico Lewis was unlucky to be sent off
The Club World Cup was a chance for Lewis to present his case to be Man City’s starting right-back for the upcoming season, and therefore, this is a major blow for the 20-year-old, who now has to serve a suspension.
Andros Townsend also believes the red card was a harsh one, stating on DAZN that he felt Lewis won the ball.
“Rico Lewis has got the ball, and his follow-through has hit Samuel Obeng’s head. They will not overturn it. The tackle is done. They both slid in, and Lewis won the ball,” Townsend said whilst commentating on DAZN via the BBC.
Lewis has now become the first Man City player to be sent off twice in the same season since Fernandinho in the 2016/17 season, a stat the right-back will not want associated with this name.
