“Makes Erling Haaland look like Xavi” - Fans want Manchester City to get rid of 28-year-old for his poor display against Celtic
Manchester City fans were unimpressed by midfielder Kalvin Phillips' performance in their pre-season friendly against Celtic on Wednesday, July 24. Pep Guardiola's squad started their pre-season tour of the United States with a 4-3 defeat to the Scottish club in North Carolina.
Celtic's Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn opened the scoring just 13 minutes into the game. City's Oscar Bobb then equalized in the 33rd minute. Kühn scored his and Celtic's second goal three minutes later, before assisting his side's next goal by Kyogo Furuhashi in the 44th minute.
Máximo Perrone got one back for Manchester City just a minute into the second half, before Erling Haaland equalized in the 57th minute. Luis Palma then scored the winning goal for Celtic in the 68th minute of the game.
Fans took to social media, sharing their opinions on Kalvin Phillips' gameplay. While some fans criticized the 28-year-old English midfielder, some wanted City to sell him this summer. Here are some of the reactions on X:
One fan wrote:
"Phillips is so bad in tight areas that he makes Erling Haaland look like Xavi."
Another added:
"get rid of phillips NOW."
"Kalvin Phillips, joao cancelo and Kyle walker NEED NEED to leave my club," chimed in another fan.
One account posted:
"It's only the first game of pre-season, but Kalvin Phillips started the game almost forcing Ortega into an OG, then has pushed up so much that Celtic have twice played through the midfield to score identical goals. Pep furious on the touchline with his midfielders. #mcfc"
Another tweeted:
"Phillips genuinely worst player on the pitch."
One user wrote:
"Yeah. Very poor. He’s just not made for this kind of team. Put him in a team like Everton and he’d be fine."
While another wrote:
"Omar Berrada definitely sanctioned off the Phillips deal."
Manchester City will face AC Milan in their next pre-season clash on Saturday, July 27, at the Yankee Stadium in New York.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland breaks Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry's all-time FPL price and sets new record
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland's Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price for the upcoming season has been revealed. It has set a new record, surpassing the numbers of Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry.
As per the official FPL account, the 24-year-old Norwegian is now priced at £15 million in just his third season in the Premier League. In last season's Fantasy Premier League, he cost £14 million, the same as Thierry Henry's price during his time at Arsenal. Cristiano Ronaldo and Robin van Persie were also priced the same during their respective tenures at Manchester United.
Erling Haaland earned 217 FPL points last season and was picked by 33.6% of all players. He arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2022 and scored a record-breaking 36 goals in 35 league games in his debut season. In his second season, he led the league once again by scoring 27 goals in 31 games.