"He is playing against us", "Big part in dropping points again" - Manchester City fans slam star after 2-2 Crystal Palace draw
Manchester City fans on X ripped into Kyle Walker for his performance in their 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, December 7. The England defender failed to live up to the expectations of the Etihad faithful.
Pep Guardiola’s men came into the contest with renewed confidence after defeating Nottingham Forest in midweek to end a seven-game winless run. However, the momentum built from that 3-0 victory was dented by Daniel Munoz in the fourth minute at Selhurst Park. The Colombian international latched onto Will Hughes’s inch-perfect through ball and kept his composure to smash home a low shot that was too hot for Stefan Ortega to handle.
Erling Haaland restored parity for the visitors at the half hour mark, nodding home his 13th league goal of the season after he met Matheus Nunes' inviting delivery. 11 minutes after the restart, Maxence Lacroix restored Palace’s lead as he rose highest to nod home a corner kick from Will Hughes.
However, like the first period, Manchester City were able to find a response as Rico Lewis put his side back on level terms in the 68th minute after being teed up by Bernardo Silva.
The possibility of Manchester City pulling off a late comeback was drastically reduced when Lewis was given his marching orders in the 84th minute for a foul on Trevoh Chalobah. The depleted visitors stood firm for the remaining minutes of the game and left London with a point as the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
Fans were unhappy with Kyle Walker’s performance in the match. The England defender had an evening to forget as he was the culprit for the two goals that City conceded.
Walker and Rico Lewis were both at fault for Palace’s opener as their offside trap was bypassed easily by Munoz and Hughes. Also, he barely challenged Lacroix for the corner from Hughes, which the former powered home.
Here are some fan reactions to his performance:
"Walker is playing against us," one fan wrote.
Another tweeted:
''Kyle Walker plays a big part in dropping points again. Anyway hope Palace goes down so they can dive and fake head injuries where I don't have to watch.''
''Another game Walker cost us,'' a fan wrote
''It's not all doing by any means, but Walker needs to be shipped. He's dusted,'' another chimed in
''Walker 2-2 Man City,'' a fan wrote
''Points dropped because we employ stupid Walker,'' another said
''Walker should leave please,'' a fan wrote
"We cannot talk about the title race" – Pep Guardiola after Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his side cannot talk about the title race after dropping points at Selhurst Park. The reigning champions are now winless in their last five away matches in the Premier League.
After the match, Guardiola said his side fought incredibly in the game and also stated that it’s a season to suffer for them. He told the BBC:
"We take a point. We fought incredibly and came back twice. It's a season to suffer. We'll see what happens in the last month. We tried. Big compliment for the opponent. We cannot talk about the title race when we lose four games in a row and draw. We'll try to recover players. We'll see in the last month. We have to do more games to be consistent. It's difficult in the situation we have. I'm really pleased for the players - they fought and did everything."
Manchester City will next be in action against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, December 11.