HomeFeatured ArticlesDoes Martin Demichelis deserve the criticism?

Does Martin Demichelis deserve the criticism?

After another solid display on Monday night for Manchester City, was the criticism of Martin Demichelis – earlier in the season – correct?

Demichelis criticism

Manchester City, for all their free-flowing football this season, have looked prone to conceding goals against any team in the Premier League and once the goals have dried up since February – noted on Monday Night Football, City’s goals per game dropped from 3.5 in their 15 matches to 1.8 in the following 15 – the amount conceded has been more costly to City’s results. The frailty of the City defence has been put at the feet of Martin Demichelis, with constant criticism and mocking aimed at the Manchester City defender.

The situation the Argentinian defender has faced this season from the press has been very similar to how Per Mertesacker was treated during his first season in English football. Both have the same weakness when it comes to pace and the struggle to adapt to the fast pace of the Premier League would have been expected by their respective clubs. Mertesacker has managed to overcome his early tricky period and the signs are that Demichelis, despite not being to the same level as the Arsenal defender, is not the bad player that he was made out to be.

That isn’t to say Demichelis has been blameless this season, he has made a couple of mistakes that have resulted in giving away fouls – most notably against Wigan that cost them a return to Wembley. In the Premier League, however, Demichelis has made no errors that have led to a shot or goal, in contrast to Vincent Kompany, a favourite with the major media outlets, has made 1 error that led to a shot and another 2 that resulted in a goal conceded – including the potentially costly miss-kick against Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. Demichelis has also made the most clearances, both headed and total, for the Manchester club with 80 and 155 respectively.

During the stage where many questioned Pellegrini for playing Demichelis, it was reported that the Chilean manager preferred Demichelis for his ability to pass the ball out of defence. His passing accuracy of 89% is similar to City’s other centre-backs, but the Argentinian 1036 completed passes dwarf that of Kompany’s 770, who has played 65 minutes more  than his defensive partner.

It is likely that Manchester City will strengthen their defence in the summer after their failed swoop for Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala in January and Demichelis’ position in the starting XI will be under intense pressure. In their final 4 matches though, Demichelis will play a big role in City’s late push for the Premier League title – and his recent form has earned that.

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