Manchester City fullback Joao Cancelo was one of three players from the Premier League champions who made it into WhoScored.com’s Team of the Week.
While many fans on Twitter were happy to see Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva selected, some have questioned the inclusion of Cancelo who performed rather poorly against Newcastle at the weekend:
Cancelo didn’t play well for us this weekend
— THE BLACK GYPSY ☯️☯️ (@TheBlackGypsy_) August 23, 2022
What exactly did cancelo do to deserve a spot here?
— ©️H®️IS👑 (@chrisbon_mwenda) August 23, 2022
I really didn’t think Cancelo had great game, in fact I think he was one of the poorest performers for us at the weekend well away from his usual exceptional standards?
— Paul Martin (@SanPaulo37) August 23, 2022
We all agree that he was the worst player on the pitch with Rodri right?
— HNNDRXXX/SHMAOTY (@Kaywilliams998) August 23, 2022
How did Cancelo make the list……..Nonsense!!!
— Pɛp ɖ’Pɛp Talker (@PlayfulTipz) August 23, 2022
Cancelo???????
— 🇩🇰💙 (@TianMCFC) August 23, 2022
james and cancelo pic.twitter.com/29RQsL2dxt
— . (@AlvarezAdmirer) August 23, 2022
WhoScored ratings are based on stats so you could say that the numbers don’t lie but, from the naked eye, Cancelo didn’t play particularly well at St James’ Park.
The defender’s failure to mark Miguel Almiron led to the Magpies’ equaliser, while his decision-making in possession led manager Pep Guardiola to berate him on a number of occasions. Obviously, though, he performed better than many had assumed.
In terms of the rest of WhoScored’s eleven, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier, Chelsea’s Reece James and Arsenal’s William Saliba made up the backline (along with Cancelo). In midfielder, Silva and De Bruyne were joined by Martin Odegaard and Leeds’ Jack Harrison while, up front, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford were included.