Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has slammed Nathan Ake for his laid back defending in the FA Community Shield. Leicester City defeated the reigning Premier League champions in the Community Shield on Saturday.
Both teams created chances, but lacked the clinical edge, which is not out of the ordinary, given that this was the first competitive match of the season for both clubs and players were bound to be rusty.
However, one player who looked a bit more rusty than everyone else was Nathan Ake. The Dutch centre-back was taking a while to get the play moving when the ball was at his feet, which was pointed out during the match by ITV commentators Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon.
While that in itself is not a major mistake, Ake made a reckless error towards the end of the match. The match looked all set to heading to penalties, but The Foxes were awarded a penalty with less than five minutes on the clock.
Receiving a back-pass from Rodri, Ake failed to clear his lines quickly, and a bad touch allowed Leicester’s Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho to pounce. In a desperate attempt, Ake tried to retrieve the ball, but ended up bringing Iheanacho down inside the box, subsequently conceding a penalty.
The spot-kick was slotted in by Iheanacho himself in the 89th minute as the Leicester lifted their second FA Community Shield.
Keane, who was working as a pundit in this game for ITV, slammed Ake for looking a bit too casual at the heart of Manchester City’s defence.
“It’s a definite penalty. Ake is another one of these defenders who gets bored. He just switches off for a split second,”
The winner of four Community Shield titles further added,
“I look at Ake today, these are important opportunities for these players. You know the manager is doubting you and it just confirms to Pep today that this guy is probably a bit short for us. When you make mistakes like that it just confirms what the manager is thinking of you.”
