He's Boyata mk II imo. Sorry. Probably a talented lad but looks utterly shell shocked when he's put under any pressure.
Everyone's blaming Gvardiol for Feyenoord's first goal but Simpson-Pusey pointlessly gave him a 50/50 to deal with. He should have just headed or booted the ball up the pitch and eased the pressure. Instead he headed a bouncing ball to Gvardiol who had two players bearing down on him. What else could he really do with it?
For their second goal he's just nowhere to be seen. Watches the ball sail over his head to Gvardiol who's knackered and outnumbered at the back post, then doesn't get back in to challenge the forward on the line. From that point the collapse has already set in and there's nobody on the pitch to restore a bit of order and calm.
But regardless, any loss of confidence will partly be on Pep. Pusey shouldn't have been put out there with the team in its current state. If Dias couldn't play for 15 minutes then why was he on the bench? In that case, why didn't Pep leave things as they were, like he does whenever we're losing games? The balance completely left the side.
As soon as I saw Pusey was coming on my heart sank. But that's not really on Simpson-Pusey, he's just a kid. With that said, a nervy kid coming into a team that badly needed a win was the total opposite of what was required and all he's done is set himself up for another nervy performance, if he ever pulls on a City shirt again.
Like I said, this already has shades of Boyata, who was a talented defender but was a deer in the headlights whenever things got a little bit ropey. That red card against Arsenal was the end of him and I hope tonight doesn't have the same effect on Pusey's trajectory - but sadly it looks likely after yet another uncertain performance in Europe.
