Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard has been criticised for the change he made in the second of his side’s 2-3 loss to Manchester City, which resulted in Pep Guardiola’s side winning the 2021/22 Premier League title.
With the Claret and Blue leading 2-0 at the Etihad, Gerrard replaced Brazilian ace Phil Coutinho with Zimbabwean midfielder Marvelous Nakamba in the 71st minute.
Critics saw that change as the watershed moment of the game, which City came back from behind to win and lift the title.
They took to microblogging site Twitter to condemn the substitution.
Gerrard did his job perfectly until he retreated with the Nakamba for Coutinho sub. Buendia & Coutinho were allowing Villa to play out of pressure & keep the ball. Villa’s only escape became going long to Watkins. Pep’s subs were also class but that sub invited pressure on Villa.
— Raj Chohan (@rajsinghchohan) May 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/Hjavfc/status/1528415475981602816?t=M7T3oR8WXV1AD2sCx1ZZ1Q&s=19
Ridiculous sub to make. Completely changed the game
— Neil Williams (@casper197635) May 23, 2022
https://twitter.com/Im_Fri_day/status/1528430067369529344?t=TCEfCOnXHgeX1BGffZiDkg&s=19