Manchester City return to Premier League action this week as they welcome Thomas Frank's Brentford to the Etihad.
21.01.2022 - 12:45 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi has reacted to a question suggesting Riyad Mahrez didn't perform at his best during their disappointing African Cup of Nations campaign because he was released late by Manchester City.
Mahrez was initially set to join the Algeria squad after the Boxing Day win over Leicester, but instead stayed at City for the Premier League trip to Brentford and New Year's Day win at Arsenal. That gave him just ten days to get to Cameroon and prepare to defend Algeria's AFCON title they won in 2019.
The title defence couldn't have gone much worse, with an under-par draw with Sierra Leone on the opening round of matches, before a shock defeat to Equatorial Guinea ended their 35-game unbeaten streak and left them without a goal. They needed to beat Ivory Coast yesterday to scrape through to the last 16, but were beaten convincingly, with Mahrez missing a penalty when 3-0 down in their 3-1 defeat.
In his post-match press conference, Belmadi was asked after the game about Mahrez's later arrival to the Algerian training camp after playing for City and whether he got a holiday before the tournament began.
The coach reacted angrily to that suggestion and defended Mahrez's performances over the three games.
He said: "Don't go and point the finger at players who have given you so much happiness.
"When things are not going well you start to point the finger at him or me. Did you want me to drop him to the bench? I didn't change things. I left him in the team.
"When you talk about holidays you are at the very least ill-informed and at worst dishonest."
Mahrez will now return to City, with some reports in Algeria suggesting he quickly started his journey back to England with the intention of playing in City's Saturday
Manchester City return to Premier League action this week as they welcome Thomas Frank's Brentford to the Etihad.
Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez and Taylor Ward are expecting their first child together.
Manchester City have been drawn against Peterborough in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Fulham boss Marco Silva believes his side showed the “courage” needed to play against Manchester City in their FA Cup fourth round defeat.
Manchester City will be gearing up to face Fulham in the FA Cup this week as Pep Guardiola's side look to progress to the fifth round of the competition.
Manchester City are fit and firing for their FA Cup tie against Championship table-toppers Fulham - with only one certain absentee at the Etihad Stadium.
Checkout our 49/20 Man City vs Fulham prediction below
Manchester United will return from the latest international break on a high — but two top-four rivals are still tipped to hold off their challenge for Champions League qualification.
Marco Silva has talked up Manchester City, describing them as the best team in England "by a distance", ahead of Fulham's FA Cup clash.
Manchester City's clash with Fulham is expected to be a goalfest, according to one former City defender.
Manchester City are ramping up their efforts to sign Borussia Dortmund goal ace Erling Haaland this summer.
The January transfer window has closed and clubs can no longer sign players under contract until the summer.
Tommy Fury has hit back at Jake Paul following comments from the American fighter where he claimed Fury was too 'scared' to face-off against him.
Deadline day has now been and gone, the January transfer window is now closed.
Former Manchester City target Dusan Vlahovic has completed his move from Fiorentina to Juventus and taken the shirt number of Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ivory Coast boss Patrice Beaumelle has revealed Manchester United defender was 'very down' following his side's AFCON exit yesterday evening.
Micah Richards has opened up on a brilliant transfer story from his time at the Etihad Stadium that left the former Manchester City defender baffled.
Charlotte Dawson has told trolls to 'do one' after being sniped at following her weight loss.