(Video): The incredible moment that had even Chelsea fans feeling sorry for Man City rookie | OneFootball

Chelsea have the lead early against Manchester City, although the circumstances were so pitiful that even some Blues fans were left cringing about it.

New Man City signing Abdukodir Khusanov, a 20 year old centre back, was thrown into the action by Pep Guardiola just days after signing. And just 2 minutes in to his first Premier League game, he’s made a horrible error.

First he let the ball bounce over his head, then he failed to make good contact on a header back to his goalkeeper. The ball was left rolling in the box, and the ever alert Nicolas Jackson was on hand to pick it up and nudge it across goal for Noni Madueke to finish.

BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella said on Twitter that the defender looked like he wanted the “earth to swallow him”. It was hard to watch the endless long shots of his face.

Various other pundits and fans agreed – Simon Stone said he looked a “rabbit in the headlights.”

To make things worse, just moments later the Uzbek brought down Cole Palmer as he rampaged through, and got a yellow card. It wasn’t far off being a red for denying a goalscoring opportunity, too. That not only further shatters his confidence, it also means he’s walking a tightrope for 80+ minutes.

You can see the horrible moment in the clips embedded here:

[Footage from Sky Sports]

https://twitter.com/NBCSportsSoccer/status/1883207671899099297

[Footage from NBC Sports]

Ruthless Chelsea must target vulnerable rookie

Abdukodir Khusanov rues his debut mistake against Chelsea.

Still, while we’d like to have taken the lead in a less awkward way, we’re not complaining. This is a superb start to a game which we now have a great chance to go on and win. Khusanov is looking shaken and there can be no mercy – we’ve got to target him in the back line.