Rico Lewis shares new Man City message after Club World Cup controversy
Manchester City bounced back from a controversial moment involving Rico Lewis to continue their Club World Cup campaign in style.
Pep Guardiola‘s side went into FIFA’s newly-reformatted tournament off the back of their first trophyless season since 2016–17, after a campaign which culminated in their FA Cup Final defeat to Crystal Palace.
Man City failed to truly fire in their Club World Cup opener and settled for a 2-0 victory against Wydad Casablanca after early goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku, but the win wasn’t without controversy.
With City two minutes away from their first three points of the tournament, Rico Lewis slid in on Samuel Obeng in a 50-50 challenge which saw him shown a straight red card in arguably harsh circumstances.
Lewis reacts to Man City’s ‘big win’ after red card decision
Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett told Football Insider that referee Ramon Abatti sent Lewis off to avoid the scrutiny which would have seen him axed from the Club World Cup, but the decision was upheld.
Lewis therefore left City without a right-back for their next clash against Al Ain, but his absence wasn’t felt whatsoever as Guardiola’s side stormed to a resounding 6-0 victory over the Emirati club.
Claudio Echeverri and new signing Rayan Cherki both scored their first City goals alongside a brace from Ilkay Gundogan, and one apiece from Norwegians Erling Haaland and Oscar Bobb in a one-sided display.
Absent from the squad after his red card, Lewis instead posted on his Instagram story (23 June) with a blue ‘love heart’ and a ‘hands raised’ emoji to City’s message of: “A big win in Atlanta!”
Man City made to wait for Rico Lewis return
Football Insider Verdict
Man City’s first two Club World Cup matches against Wydad AC and Al Ain were seen as formalities even before they travelled across the Atlantic, with 26 June’s clash against Juventus set to decide Group G.
Juventus and City sit top of the pile ahead of their match in Orlando, but Guardiola may once again be forced to play Khusanov out of position after Lewis’ one-match ban was inexplicably extended to three [BBC, 23 June].
John Obi Mikel and Andros Townsend disagreed over the brandishing of a straight red card, but neither ex-player would have anticipated that Lewis’ challenge would be worthy of a three-game suspension.