Garth Crooks believes Manchester City’s No. 1 Ederson Moraes was in the wrong when he got into a scrap with Nottingham Forest attacker Taiwo Awoniyi on Saturday.
The outspoken analyst gave his two cents on the £34.7 million (Guardian) kickoff after the Nigerian goalscorer attempted to lob the ball over his head in his BBC Premier League Team of the Week.
Garth Crooks believes Ederson reacted inappropriately after Manchester City teammate Rodri was also sent off against Nottingham Forest.
Garth Crooks criticizes Ederson for a ‘unnecessary’ brawl with Taiwo Awoniyi during Manchester City’s win over 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.
Garth Crooks noticed Ederson’s antics after Manchester City overcame Nottingham Forest.
“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 stated.
“I sincerely hope City do not turn into prima donnas.” They may be the finest team in Europe, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten. It also means that such tackles will occasionally hurt and your hair will be disheveled.”
Ederson will benefit from this lesson in the future.
While Garth Crooks is correct in his criticism of Manchester City’s reaction against Nottingham Forest, the incidents serve as a cautionary tale for the future.
Especially the latter, who should have calmed things down after City was down to 10 men in the second half.
Given that teams will want to go under the treble-winners’ skin in order to gain any kind of advantage, Ederson, as a prominent figurehead at the club, must be aware of this.