🗣️ “Devastating…he’s just awful.” “He’s DONE.” 🗣️ “Can we have Scott Sinclair back?” Man City fans have ran out of patience with one player who had a truly terrible game v Bayer Leverkusen.

Football can be beautiful, and football can be painful, and on the night Manchester City lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, it was pain that filled the hearts of the City fans. The defeat itself was already hard to swallow, but what made the night even worse was the performance of the young Brazilian winger Savinho, who became the centre of frustration and anger across the fanbase. It was a match where everything he touched turned wrong, a match where every mistake became a fresh wound, and a match where supporters completely lost patience.

The Champions League is supposed to be where stars shine brighter. It is where players create memories that fans talk about for years. But for Savinho, this was not a night to remember with pride. This was a night that might haunt him for a long time. The pressure was already high before kickoff because Pep Guardiola rotated the squad heavily. James Trafford was given a rare start in goal. Big names like Haaland, Donnarumma and Foden were on the bench, so every player on the pitch needed to seize the opportunity. But instead of seizing the moment, the rotated squad collapsed, and Savinho stood in the middle of the storm.

From the first whistle, it was clear that Bayer Leverkusen were not intimidated, they were organised, aggressive, and extremely sharp. They pressed with confidence and defended like warriors. Manchester City on the other hand looked unsure and unprepared, and the fans reacted quickly as they watched Savinho struggle every time he touched the ball. He ran, he tried to dribble, he tried to cross, but nothing worked. Instead of creating danger, he kept losing the ball, and every loss of possession made the crowd groan louder and louder.

The most painful statistic of the night was not the 2-0 scoreline. It was the number 24 — the number of times Savinho gave away the ball. Twenty-four giveaways in one match. Twenty-four moments that killed momentum. Twenty-four mistakes that allowed Bayer Leverkusen to counter attack and gain confidence. It was a nightmare. Every time he received a pass, City fans held their breath in fear instead of hope. Every time he pushed forward, Leverkusen defenders simply took the ball off him like it was nothing. It was like he forgot how to play his own style.

The big moment that destroyed the remaining patience of the supporters came in the 57th minute. Manchester City were still behind, but they were trying to fight back. They were finally pushing higher and building pressure, and then came a golden chance — a perfect chance — for Savinho to level the score. It was the kind of chance every attacker dreams of. The ball came to him inside the box with space, with time, with the goal wide open in front of him. It needed only calmness and accuracy. But he rushed it. He panicked. And he sent the chance flying away. The entire stadium gasped. Some fans held their heads. Others shouted angrily. That was the moment everything snapped.

And as the match continued, things only became worse. His crosses missed. His dribbles failed. His defensive tracking was late. His duels were lost. Bayer Leverkusen kept punishing the spaces he left behind. He won only five of twelve ground duels. He completed only one accurate cross out of six attempts. He succeeded in only four dribbles out of nine. It wasn’t just a bad match, it was a match full of frustration, confusion and panic in every movement.

After the final whistle, fans were furious. Not disappointed — furious. Social media exploded with anger. It wasn’t calm criticism, it was emotional football heartbreak from supporters who felt betrayed by the performance. Many fans said they had defended him for months, but now they were finally done. Some fans even said that Manchester City made a big mistake by rejecting Tottenham’s summer offer for Savinho, which was believed to be over £70 million. They argued that City should have taken the money and let him go.

When fans start comparing a young winger to former players from many years ago, and saying they would rather bring those older players back instead of watching Savinho, you know it has reached crisis level. That’s exactly what happened. Someone even said they would rather see Scott Sinclair return than continue watching Savinho. That is not a normal comment, that is a sign of deep frustration. It shows how badly the fanbase is hurting.

One fan posted online saying, “Someone in City needs 10 days jail time for not selling AND extending Savinho.” It was not meant literally, but it captured the emotion perfectly. The supporters were not just angry at Savinho. They were angry at the club for trusting him too much, for blocking his exit, and for extending his contract instead of taking the big money offer. Another fan wrote, “Why didn’t we take the £70m for Savinho,” and many others agreed. The anger was not from hate, it came from disappointment.

Some supporters said Savinho has no place in the starting eleven anymore. Others said they are tired of the experiment. One even begged the club to put the winger on the transfer list immediately. It was a flood of criticism that no footballer wants to experience, especially at such a young age. It was not gentle, it was not soft, it was brutal. It was raw emotion from fans who love Manchester City deeply and could not accept such a weak performance in the Champions League.

But the deeper pain behind the anger is that fans know Savinho has talent. They have seen flashes of brilliance in the past. They have seen his dribbling ability, his pace, his confidence when he is at his best. That is what makes this situation even harder. When players fail because they don’t have ability, people shrug. But when players fail because they cannot handle the moment, people scream in frustration. City fans are not against Savinho as a human. They are angry because they expected more.

Pressure inside Manchester City is not normal pressure. The club has built such high standards that even a small mistake receives heavy attention. A bad performance becomes news. A failure to score becomes a topic online. A winger losing possession too many times becomes a trending debate. Football at the top is unforgiving. Savinho is learning that the hard way.

Pep Guardiola did not protect him during the match. He did not take him off early. He let him play the full 90 minutes. Maybe Pep hoped Savinho would redeem himself. Maybe Pep wanted to teach him something. Or maybe Pep wanted him to feel what pressure looks like so he could grow from it. Nobody knows except the coach. But after the final whistle, Guardiola’s face said everything. He looked disappointed, not just in Savinho, but in the entire squad.

The team lacked hunger. The team lacked energy. The team lacked courage. But Savinho became the symbol of the collapse because his mistakes were the most visible. Every misplaced pass killed an attack. Every lost duel gave Leverkusen oxygen. Every failed cross took away hope. When supporters are hurt, they find someone to blame, and this time their eyes turned to Savinho.

It is now up to him to decide what happens next. A young footballer can either sink from criticism or rise from it. Some of the greatest players in history have been booed, insulted, doubted and written off — and they used that pain to build greatness. Others never recovered from nights like this. No one knows which direction Savinho will take.

But one thing is certain: he will not forget this match. The fans will not forget it either. Every time he steps onto the pitch again, the expectations will be higher and the tolerance lower. If he plays well, he will win back hearts quickly. If he repeats this performance, the noise will become even louder.

Football is emotional. Fans love quickly, and fans punish quickly. One great performance can erase a thousand doubts. One terrible performance can erase a thousand praises. Savinho is now at a crossroads in his Manchester City career, and only he can choose which direction to go.

The pain of this 2-0 defeat is not going away immediately. The reaction from the fans shows how much this club means to them. Supporters want to see passion. They want to see effort. They want to see football that reflects the greatness of the badge. That is why they reacted so strongly — not because they hate Savinho, but because they love Manchester City.

Time will tell how this chapter ends. Maybe Savinho will rise. Maybe he will leave. Maybe one day fans will look back and laugh about how close they were to writing him off. Or maybe this night will become the beginning of the end of his City journey. Football is unpredictable like that.

For now, all that remains is silence, frustration and expectation. The fans are waiting for the next match to heal their wounds. Savinho is waiting for his chance to redeem himself. And Pep Guardiola is waiting to see who in his squad has the character to respond when everything falls apart

The Champions League gave Manchester City a painful night. But sometimes pain becomes fuel, and heartbreak becomes motivation. And only the next game will tell what this defeat truly meant.