Pep Can’t Rely on Man City Duds Dias & Gvardiol After Woeful Fulham Outing

Despite emerging from Craven Cottage with a victory, Manchester City were made to work right to the final whistle for all three points in their 5-4 win against Fulham. And supporters are far from happy with what they saw from two players in the capital.

Erling Haaland opened the scoring with his 100th Premier League goal, becoming the fastest player to reach that milestone. And when Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden added goals to their lead, it seemed as though it would be a routine night for the Cityzens.

Even after Emile Smith Rowe got one back for Fulham, Foden was on hand to grab his second of the night before Sander Berge’s goal notched a fifth for City. But the visitors proceeded to collapse, with Alex Iwobi’s strike and Samuel Chukwueze’s brace putting Fulham within touching distance of their opponents.

Marco Silva’s side piled forward in search of an equaliser, but could not break down City’s back line for one final time. Nevertheless, big questions need to be asked about two of their players.

Man City Fans Slam Defensive Duo For Performances

Such a worrying collapse has led to Man City supporters targeting centre-back duo Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias for their defending on the night. Despite being regarded as two of the better defenders in the league, Fulham took advantage of lapses in concentration from them both, particularly for their third goal, when the Portuguese international played attackers onside on two occasions in the build-up.

One fan, reacting to the goal, wrote: “Dias in playing everyone onside because he likes to sit deep like an old man shock horror.” Another added: “It’s Dias playing them onside every single time.”

His centre-back partner didn’t put in an inspiring performance either, though, with him also targeted by angry City supporters. One stated: “Dias and Gvardiol stinking at the back but it’s John [Stones] you’re worried about.” A fellow fan echoed those thoughts, writing: “Gvardiol please leave my club.”

A final fan extended criticism to both Bernardo Silva and Reijnders, who both left a little to be desired defensively in their eyes. They wrote: “Dias, Gvardiol, Silva & Reijnders. Questions need to be asked as to why they are so poor defensively.”

More to follow…