‘Mahrez is stingy and wasteful’ – Manchester City star comes under attack after Real Madrid miss

The 31-year-old Algerian star missed a glorious chance to put the Citizens 3-0 up against Los Blancos in the first leg meeting

Manchester City fans have castigated the performance of winger Riyad Mahrez after he missed an open chance in their 4-3 Champions League semi-final first-leg victory against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

It was the 31-year-old Algerian international, who set up Kevin De Bruyne for Man City’s opener with only two minutes played, and then Gabriel Jesus doubled their lead after a pass from De Bruyne.

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Man City could have easily stretched their lead to 3-0, but Mahrez, after being put through on goal following a counter-attack; opted to go for goal himself rather than squaring for a tap in, with De Bruyne and Phil Foden to his left for support.

He finally hit his effort which hit the side netting after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois covered his area, a decision which left manager Pep Guardiola, fuming on the touchline while shouting at the player.

Immediately after he missed the chance, Madrid reduced the deficit courtesy of Karim Benzema for a 2-1 half-time scoreline. On resumption, Phil Foden put Man City 3-1 up but Vinícius Junior made it 3-2. Bernardo Silva then stuck the fourth for City before Benzema converted from the penalty spot to cap an entertaining first leg fixture.

Though Mahrez was involved for the entire 90 minutes, City fans have taken to their social media pages to criticise the player.

Below is how fans reacted on Twitter after Mahrez’s wasted chance.

A set of fans has defended the player for the missed chances.

However, despite the miss, another set of fans have praised the Algerian star for his superb assist that helped Man City to take a deserved lead.

Sum up Mahrez’s display for Manchester City against Real Madrid in one word?