Last week was tough for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola and the players.
This is turning into a rather forgettable campaign, and it’s clear that a rebuild is now needed in order for the club to get back to dominating in English football.
On Sunday, Manchester City lost 2-0 to Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
It was a comfortable win for Arne Slot’s Reds, who were clinical in the right moments.
City had lots of the ball and created chances. But ultimately, City fell short due to not being good enough in the final third.
Pep Guardiola did praise Savinho and Jeremy Doku, but most other City players were poor on the day.
And one man who Paul Merson wasn’t impressed with was Nico Gonzalez.
Paul Merson not impressed with Nico Gonzalez so far at Manchester City
Nico Gonzalez arrived at Manchester City as the final signing of the January transfer window.
He completed a move from FC Porto for around £50 million, and has made four appearances up to now.
Gonzalez massively impressed against Newcastle United on his Premier League debut, putting on a passing masterclass.
However, he has struggled in the games since then against Real Madrid and Liverpool, with pundit Merson using his last two performances as ammunition.
He told Sportskeeda: “I don’t want to sound horrible, but Nico Gonzalez looks a bit lost in that City midfield.
“He got destroyed against Real Madrid and I’m not looking at him going, wow, what a signing.”
Paul Merson doubted Yaya Toure at Man City too
City fans are likely to disagree with Merson’s opinion of Gonzalez, which feels very harsh considering the Spaniard has a very small sample size so far.
But then, fans won’t be all that surprised that Merson is being critical of a new City signing early doors.
He was famously unimpressed by Yaya Toure when City signed the Ivorian from Barcelona in 2010.
Merson described Toure as ‘average’ saying (as quite by Give Me Sport): “The Ivorian is an average player who’s rumoured to be on £200,000 a week! Does he score goals? No. Does he create them? No. Is he an OK holding midfielder? Yeah – but De Jong, Vieira and Barry do that job already!”
Of course, Merson was left with egg on his face with Toure going on to become one of the all-time great Premier League midfielders.
It’s very early days for Gonzalez at City.
He’s finding his feet in a difficult moment for the club, and that comparison to Rodri by Guardiola the other day probably didn’t help him, as much as the Manchester City manager obviously meant well.
