{"id":300809,"date":"2023-11-28T21:25:33","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T21:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=300809"},"modified":"2023-11-28T21:25:33","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T21:25:33","slug":"glenn-hoddle-slams-man-city-defender-manuel-akanji-for-switching-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/glenn-hoddle-slams-man-city-defender-manuel-akanji-for-switching-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenn Hoddle slams Man City defender Manuel Akanji for 'switching off'"},"content":{"rendered":"
Glenn Hoddle has slammed Manuel Akanji’s for ‘switching off completely’ after Manchester City conceded two early goals during their Champions League clash against RB Leipzig.<\/p>\n
Lois Openda stunned Cityzens in the opening 35 minutes of the match scoring twice with both goals coming from defensive errors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His first came in the 13th minute, capitalising on a long ball form goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, before running through the Man City defence to strike the ball past Stefan Ortega.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Glenn Hoddle has criticised Akanji for allowing Openda to spin away from him to go through one-on-one with the goalkeeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘He\u2019s taken it really well,’ Hoddle said to TNT Sports on Openda’s finish. ‘It\u2019s Akanji really, I don\u2019t know where his mind was.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Glenn Hoddle has criticised Manchester City star Manuel Akanji for ‘switching off’ and allowing RB Leipzig to take an early lead during their Champions League clash<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ‘This is all about mentality and he\u2019s gone back in as a centre-back. Started in that midfield role. I think Pep’s put him back in there as a normal centre-back. But he\u2019s gone back in as a centre back but he\u2019s just switched off completely.<\/span><\/p>\n ‘There\u2019s a long ball and we\u2019ve seen them play through the 18-yard line. It\u2019s just one long punt from the keeper. Look where he\u2019s [Openda’s] got in between the two centre-backs to start his run. It\u2019s just so poor defending.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While he criticised City, he lumped praise on the Belgian striker for his finish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ‘Openda puts it away really nice. Keeps a cool head. We\u2019ve not seen him do that one all season but he\u2019s finished it exceedingly well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ‘He’s just kept a nice cool head. Has a quick glance and tucks it in the corner. City well, that\u2019s really going to have to shake them up a bit. Pep will not be happy with that.’\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Openda, who joined the club earlier this summer, hit back not long after with his second of the night, to score his 13th goal in all competitions this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It came following a defensive mistake from Ruben Dias, with the 23-year-old spinning away from the defender on the half-way line, before utilising his blistering pace to charge through on goal and place his shot in the bottom-left corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ‘What a wonderful, wonderful finish,’ Hoddle said on the second goal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ‘Again it comes from a mistake. Dias has been like that all night. He\u2019s been booked for one trying to get too tight too quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Sometimes you just have to let the striker have the ball. And three times that\u2019s happened tonight. He\u2019s tried to win the ball on the half-way line and there\u2019s no real danger and he gets spun. Too tight just let him have it.<\/p>\n ‘Gvardiol comes across. Sells himself, but this is really fantastic a little dummy [from Openda] and he sells him with the eyes. He shapes as if he\u2019s going across the keeper. He\u2019s still got a lot to do to score the goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Gvardiol has got to make him go down the left channel but this is brilliant he shapes his body as if he\u2019s going to go across the keepers left and just puts it back into the keepers left and it\u2019s a wonderful finish. And they deserve it.’<\/p>\n More to follow…\u00a0<\/p>\n