Garth Crooks believes Manchester City No.1 Ederson Moraes was in the wrong as he scuffled with Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi on Saturday.
In his BBC Premier League Team of the Week, the outspoken pundit gave his two cents on the £34.7 million (Guardian) kicking off after the Nigerian goalscorer tried to lob the ball over his head.
Garth Crooks has said Ederson reacted improperly after Manchester City teammate Rodri was sent off as well against Nottingham Forest.
Garth Crooks slates Ederson for ‘unnecessary’ scuffle with Taiwo Awoniyi after Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest
Branded as ‘absolutely sensational’ by Stuart Pearce for his outstanding save to keep Anthony Elanga’s strike out in the same game, the typically ice-cool 30-year-old lost his head for a moment.
In what should merely have been an argument between him and Awoniyi, the Brazilian went head-to-head with him to kickstart quite a heated moment.
After Manchester City defeated Nottingham Forest, Garth Crooks noted these antics from Ederson.
“However, the reaction by Rodri on Morgan Gibbs-White, and Ederson’s extraordinary and unnecessary response to a perfectly reasonable attempt by Taiwo Awoniyi to place the ball over the oncoming Manchester City goalkeeper was not just temperamental but juvenile”, he said.
“I sincerely hope City are not becoming prima donnas. They might be the best team in Europe but that doesn’t mean the opposition can’t tackle them. It also means that on occasions those tackles will hurt and you might get your hair ruffled.”
A lesson for the future for Ederson
While Garth Crooks is fair in his criticism of the Manchester City pair for their reaction against Nottingham Forest, the incidents serve as a lesson for the future.
Especially the latter who should have calmed proceedings after having seen City go down to 10 men in the second half.
Considering teams will try to get under the treble-winners’ skin to gain any kind of advantage they can, Ederson must be aware of this as a senior figurehead at the club.
