Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo has sent a defiant message after he admitted to having a ‘disaster’ of a performance for Barcelona against Villarreal.
The Portugal international made his return to the side on Saturday, coming on as a substitute against Villarreal.
But it was not a game to remember for Cancelo, who made a real hash of his clearance that allowed Villarreal to score their third goal of their 5-3 win.
It was very reminiscent of the goal Mo Salah scored against City once at Anfield, when Cancelo was the last defender back as the Reds cleared the ball upfield.
Cancelo would have been hoping to make a good impact yesterday against Villarreal, but it really didn’t go well for him.
After being at fault for the second goal, Cancelo was then out of position for Villarreal’s third, with Goncalo Guedes finishing clinically.
On Villarreal’s fourth goal, he just watched on as Alexander Sortloth eventually bundled the ball into the back of the net.
It was a tough outing for the 29-year-old, and after the game, he branded himself ‘a disaster’. But he also took to social media to send a message of defiance.
There was plenty of support from fans for Cancelo, and he also received backing from his fellow countryman and loanee Joao Felix, who told him ‘The best in the world make mistakes too!’.
Cancelo will be very frustrated with his performance for Barca against Villarreal, and it will not help him move away from the narrative about his defensive capabilities.
But the £250,000-a-week man remains one of the finest full-backs in the world, at least in an attacking sense.
City officials will hope he can bounce back from this showing quickly, and that he can keep his market value high going into the summer ahead of a potential sale.
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