Tijjani Reijnders lifts lid on poor Manchester City performances amid indifferent form

Manchester City playmaker Tijjani Reijnders attempted to explain his side’s lacklustre display in their 2-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League.

Reijnders was back in the starting XI for Manchester City on Tuesday evening at the Etihad Stadium in the backdrop of being benched in recent games over Liverpool and Newcastle and starring for Netherlands in the recent international break.

The 26-year-old made a terrific start to life at the Etihad Stadium upon signing from AC Milan for £45 million, making a strong impression at the FIFA Club World Cup and in a 3-0 pre-season friendly victory against Palermo in Italy.

However, the Dutch star’s stock has since depreciated as he inevitably goes through the motions of adjusting to life in England and adapting to Pep Guardiola’s demands in his debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium.

Reijnders was signed by Manchester City’s director of football Hugo Viana, who replaced long-serving executive Txiki Begiristain in the summer, in an attempt to mitigate the notable loss of Kevin De Bruyne, who was let go by the club on a free transfer in June.

Since his arrival to England, the former AC Milan man has shown glimpses of the form that pushed him to the very top of Manchester City’s summer wishlist but Reijnders will be the first to admit that he has been far from his best in recent months.

The midfielder was dropped to the bench in City’s last two games against Liverpool and Newcastle but returned to the starting XI against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday as goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick secured a huge 2-0 triumph for the Bundesliga outfit in Manchester.

Reflecting on City’s uninspiring performance against Leverkusen in conversation with the club’s official channels, Reijnders said: “Unfortunately we didn’t play very well, although we created pretty much chances as well.

“We could’ve done much better and getting two goals against us is hard of course. We really trained on the tactics and of course, Leverkusen they played also pretty well.

“But two times that they had a shot on target and two times it was a goal. We had to be more secure with our chances.

“Today was a day that it didn’t want to go in. But we have to keep confidence and be ready for the next game on Saturday.”

Guardiola raised eyebrows after making 10 changes to his starting XI against Leverkusen and it remains to be seen whether Reijnders did enough on Tuesday to justify a place in Manchester City’s lineup against Leeds United at the weekend.